Many thought about that and TUV, and sadly it isn't true.
That is why you will find some £200 coilovers from Germany / E-bay that have TUV certification.
If you are willing to step through the trouble, most things can get TUV… it is just a matter of cost to the supplier.
As for your experience with travel, it is true but that only on OEM spec dampers.
Going to dual perch design coilovers like the MeisterR, the car is lowered using a lower bracket by shortening the damper body.
What that mean is the highest and lowest setting on the coilovers will not affect damper travel at all.
Harder springs rate normally is for progressive lowering springs.
If done correctly, coliovers with harder springs rate are provided to provide a higher "wheel frequency".
That along with adjustable damping allows the user to have a comfortable fast road or responsive track day setup.
A good suspension shouldn't "skip", but that have a lot more to do with just damper travel.
As for short stroke damper, it doesn't affect damper life at all.
There are a lot of factors, but if you look at our GT1 coilovers that offer a lifetime warranty, that is because we have a unique CNC shaft seal that doesn't wear, so that damper works for life unless something physically damage the rod (such as a bent rod or a scored shaft).
There are a lot of misconception on coilovers simply because a lot of people over the years have put "race" coilovers on road car to find the ride is rubbish.
Or manufacturer who simply think "harder is better" so people have been associated to it.
People with understanding of vehicle dynamics can dial out suspension that is good 90% of the time, because if you know how to calculate the set of math then all cars is the same; it is just the numbers that changes.
Jerrick