Yes dedicated tools are better but will you always have them with you? The idea of the multitool is to always have it with you so that it might get you out of a tight spot when the dedicated tools aren’t around. The multitool was never designed to replace dedicated tools if they’re available.
To answer the original poster’s question, my vote would definitely go to the Leatherman Surge for being the strongest multitool.
If I’m home, then all my tools are available. If I’m in my truck, then I have a well-stocked toolbox full of Craftsman mechanic’s tools in my truck. If I’m on my bicycle, well, my town is 3-4 miles from one end to the other, and nothing that can break on my bike is going to leave me stranded, since I’m within walking distance of home or my office or shopping. If I’m in the woods, there’s nothing I’m going to have with me and nothing I’m going to encounter that is likely to be better addressed by a multitool than by the other tools I carry—except that I will allow that the pliers can occasionally be useful for additional leverage to pull some cordage tight or something like that. If I’m at my office, well, it’s SEP (Somebody Else’s Problem).
In the woods, I carry a Victorinox Rambler (better scissors and small knife), a Gerber Pro-Guide II fixed blade hunting knife, and a Gränsfors Mini Belt Hatchet, plus a USA made original vintage U-Dig-It trowel—unless I’m processing firewood, in which case, I’ll also have a proper axe and saw.
Mostly, I end up using my Wave as a fidget toy.
I do, however, always carry my Squirt EL in my toolbox when working stage support gigs, primarily because of the wire stripper pliers.
I’ve always loved the idea of my Wave—it has so many tools on it: plain and serrated blades, wood saw, metal saw/file/diamond sharpener, pliers, scissors, combo tool, and a bunch of drivers, and I even have the Wave Tool Adapter set. It really is nearly a do-everything, meet any mishap tool. But the reality is, that level of comfort has to be weighed against the likely actual inconvenience of not having it when a mishap arises, and compared with the weight and bulk and utility of dedicated tools, and in the calculus of my life, multi-tools of that type usually lose out.
My truck toolboxes have my torque wrenches and a big breaker bar with an extension pipe to get lug nuts on and off (F-150 4x4, 150 lb-ft, which is about the limit of what I can pull on my biggest torque wrench), and full sets of 1/4” drive and 3/8” drive sockets up to 19 mm, plus other tools, and if I can’t fix it myself, then I call for assistance.
