I use GNU Stow for mine so the dotfiles I care about are included in my file-level backups. Once I restore my files, I can just run the stow(8) command to create the symbolic links. But, if I just want the dotfiles without the rest of my files, I would use scp(1) to copy the stow directory over to a new system, because it would be simplest. I don't use version control with my stow directory (yet).
I find it important to support projects that contribute to the greater free software ecosystem. I pick projects I benefit from and whose continued existence I am invested in, despite any faults.