In a 1v1 match it might be more balanced like the Tui and La depict, but at a 4-player commander table, it's usually quite worth it for you to pay the cumulative upkeep for a couple of turns
Choose your colors (or colortheres nothing wrong with playing a monocolor deck!), then select a good all-around commander that matches those colors
One can make creatures effectively unblockable by supplying protection and altering colors, and opponents' removal can be made useless in the same way
Granting Menace to the team on EtB is potent, and having a built-in way to bring it back to play means you can keep reusing the combat trick while ensuring the buff is never far away
New cards like 'Aerith Gainsborough' that get's stronger when you gain life but then disperses her +1/+1 counters to her teammates when she dies or with 'Gilgamesh, Master-at-Arms' who let's you draw a bunch of cards and freely play any equipment cards onto the battlefield (too bad the card doesn't also play 'Battle on the Big Bridge' track)
So, here are some defenders to include in these decks: Axebane Guardian, Wall of Mourning, and Crystal Barricade