do an upgrade, you wont regret it. People like the BAT kit because it doesnt lower that much and its still a very refined but fun ride... But the way sales are going the Koni Sport kit is overall better bang for buck.
Sorry to hear about your Strut musfortune, but its a sign just to upgrade

Not all struts last over 70 or 80K its pretty common in a lot of cars for them to wear out at around 80K miles. It depends on the type of driving you do and the roads you drive on. Longest I have EVER seen a strut still have a decent ride was to 100K miles, and you could feel they were about done. I would think a sport tuned suspension wouldnt last longer then your average midsized car.