Whole House Surge Protector or for A/C HVAC only?

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Also, if I decide to buy whole house SP what's a good one to buy for reliabiliy and price wise.

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Eaton, Siemens, GE...there are a lot of "good" ones on the market. Better questions would be if you need an indoor or outdoor rated unit, what type of surge suppression you want, and how much access there is with your current main panel. We have frequent brown-outs and power fluctuations unrelated to weather so I personally am looking at an Intermatic unit with replaceable modules but there are others that are good and a lot cheaper. Also, don't confuse a surge protector with something capable of handling a lightning strike, they aren't rated for that kind of protection though it might be better than nothing at all.

No, you are probably want to get the largest kVA supressor you can fit/afford but just know they are not designed to handle lightning strikes at all. You'd need to install a system designed for lightning, which actually don't have anything to do with your electrical as much as provides a clear channel to ground for the lightning strike. Basically lightning rods, thick copper cables or copper flashing, and all of it bonded to dedicated ground rods. That would channel the lightning to ground on the exterior of the house, usually destroys the system but it is sacrificed in order to protect your house. A house in my parents neighborhood was recently struck by lighting, caused a fire that did a lot of damage.

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I am more concerned about lightning strikes

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You want lightning protection then.

4LP, Bonded LP, etc. etc.