I made the decision to add a pickguard to my 535 last year after going six years without one. But when my 535 was build, Heritage went away from the wooden pickguards and were using a single-ply ugly black pickguard that resembled but was nothing like the original style.
Heritage since changed the design completely, updated their hardware, and moved to a 5 ply B-W-B-W-B pickguard. While I love it, I don't like there wasn't a Black & Cream option or gold hardware. I may look into a different company for the right materials that match my guitar. Hardware isn't as noticeable as the pickguard.