Great choice, you won't regret it! I was very worried of the drops on my LHT when I first got it, having only ridden with flats prior. It took some time to get everything adjusted, but I love them now! I still probably don't have a perfect bike fit - something I look forward to doing this spring, but overall very comfy!
As far as security goes - I don't think the red bar tape is going to deter a thief who has already cut through your two locks! For my bike, well I haven't been locking it up... but that's because I only ride it to work where it's safe. Up until winter, I was just using a cable lock... didn't really care for it too much tbh. Now that it's getting nicer out, I'm going to need to get a new lock since I will be venturing out on my bike more often.
I've been looking at just getting a set of Pitlock locking skewers, and a high quality mini U-lock. I live in a pretty low theft area (Iowa in general), so I think with the Pitlocks my wheels will be safe, and if I can't find anything to lock my bike up to I cn just put the U-Lock through the rear wheel/triangle so it can't be ridden away. I want a system that is reasonably secure and no-hassle. Hopefully I'm not being too naive :x