I lube using the drop method after each ride with pro lube.
I clean with a rag before my ride. In other words, I leave the excess lube overnight.
I ride about 50 miles a day and get >2000 miles on a chain. I use SRAM chains on my 9 speed shimano 105and Campy chains on my 10 speed chorus. I found KMC chains did not last for me.
I haven't really experimented with lubes, other than with White Lightning, which I did not like because of the settling of the mixture. I thought it might work better for me when I did bike trails, in dry conditions.