This. I'm of the paranoid sort myself, so I have layers and layers (and LAYERS) of these kinds of protections and relationships; honestly, more aimed at guarding against human magical and mundane harm, but that apply to anyone or anything. And lots of offerings for more the more mischievous of my neighbors.The system of magic I practice focuses on extensive personal development as a foundation of everything else, and the beginning spirits I work with are the ancestors and the local land spirits who I basically view and treat as neighbors. So I have several layers of basic protection that are a constant, from working on the personal magical fitness of my aura, shielding, household wards, a magical "neighborhood watch," etc.
(Cut for space)
I've learned that, in my praxis at least, a lot of it comes down to honor and respect. I work hard to be an honorable man in every facet of life, and the spirits I work with tend to respect that and don't screw me over. Sometimes they scold me, but they haven't harmed me yet. lol
I was once told, in a conversation in a trance with a demon, that to "bear a sword" when I spoke with them was a mark of respect. Protections when I worked with them (in addition to protecting us from outside interruption) were a way that I acknowledged that they could slap me around if they wanted to (perhaps metaphorically, perhaps not); while by not taking offense that I came before them "armed", they were respecting me as, basically, not being a dilettante wasting their time. I figured, that worked just fine as guidance for me!
I will also say, I tend to aim my protections at binding actions, particularly when working with anyone specifically. Basically, you're always welcome; it's only if you act in a way that would harm me or mine that any protection would be triggered. I learned the hard way that more often than not, what I interpreted as a threat was anger or frustration, and protecting myself too aggressively made things worse. It also sometimes irritated tricksters who were, in their own way, helping, and who took my protections as ignoring them while challenging them to escalate.