Sanity check plan new zone

Hello All,
First time posting here, so let me know if I'm doing anything wrong regarding the forum rules/policies.

I recently moved into a house that has central heating only on the ground level. My plan is to also have heating upstairs. Luckily, the combi boiler (Vaillant Ecotec Plus from 2021) is already upstairs, so it should be fairly straightforward. I've now drafted up three plans for this but wanted a sanity check on them and some help choosing. They are:

First (traditional) Plan

1. Branch the flow immediately at the boiler and add two zone valves: One for the upstairs and the other for the downstairs.
   1. The one going downstairs would go into a simple manifold (no pump or thermostat) that is already there, and which branches off to the radiators downstairs.
   2. I would replicate the design in 1a for upstairs. That is, have the zone valve for upstairs lead into a simple manifold that would supply two radiators for the two rooms upstairs.
2. Connect the return immediately before the expansion vessel.

Advantages: Straightforward plan, fairly cheap, and I feel confident about doing it.

Concerns about first plan: I've heard very bad things about zone valves. They tend to break and need repair fairly often. This is a problem for me because I travel quite often, sometimes for around a full month. I wouldn't want my house running the heating full for a whole month because the zone valve has jammed.

Second Plan

1. As 1, but have the zone valves in the return portion of the circuit.
   1. Zone valves would connect back just before the expansion vessel.

Advantages: Same as those for the first plan.

Concerns about second plan: Same as those for the first plan

Third Plan

1. Branch off the flow portion and feed two more modern manifolds with thermostats: One for downstairs and another for upstairs.

Advantages: So far, I've not heard any issues about these new manifolds malfunctioning in the way traditional zone valves do. Also, I plan to add underfloor heating to the downstairs floor in the nearby future.

Concerns about third plan: I don't see this as a common suggestion for setting up different zones, so don't know if I'm missing something. Also, I have no idea about how to install these things, so would prob need to read up quite a bit on them. But if people say it's worth it, I would be happy to look into it.

Thanks for any help/suggestions you all can share!