I have had a couple of TLD's in my time and I found better drags in other brands, their Tyrnos models I think are better built and had 2 of those and they were quite good. However they don't have thrust bearings in them so if you do have a locked up drag it can be hard to turn the handle on some of them as the pressure is on the side which those standard bearing are not designed to take leading to premature wear.
Yes, that is true about the drag increase with the loss of diameter but you don't want to have the line snap on a fast blistering run before the drag slips. Once you start losing line you still have to back off the drag lever because it will increase automatically with line loss, especially on braid which has minimal stretch. In either case whatever the reason you still should do the 1/3 thing.
If Gazza wants to stick with spinning reels here is a link to a deal at Dinga with free delivery if he signs up for a free membership to the Dinga club, and I believe you also can get a $20 discount for first membership order.
https://www.dinga.com.au/penn-spinfi...-ally-rod.html
Penn Spinfisher 10500 SSVI Spinning Reel-New 2018 and a Penn Ally 5'6'' 24-37kg Spinning Fishing Rod for $190