I know when I was doing a lot of linux admin, I preferred apf/bfd and even then support for them was dying. I see some still use apf/bfd but it hasn't been updated much from 2007 and wondering if it is mostly a dead project at this point and better off sticking with iptables only.

A lot of the apf/bfd folks I know went with CSF-
http://configserver.com/cp/csf.html

I remember that one, I thought it was more or less limited to CPanel installations. I'll have a look. Know if it offers a lot over the iptables/fail2ban combination?

It used to be limited to cPanel installs, but it's now available on several operating systems with or without cPanel. I use it, and like it.

I agree on csf. It works well and does not require any CPanel.