Col says: I like to top wrap my two Gibson SGs. But not my Epiphones.
I tried it on both Epiphones, the Wilshire and the ES-339 and didn't like it.

See above. My ES-339 has the stock bridge in this photo, and I didn't like the
way top wrapping made the tail sit at a slant. I tried it again after
installing a new Gotoh bridge, but nah... My Wilshire has a
Tone Pros bridge, and it didn't slant but I still just didn't like the feel.
On the Epiphones, I didn't notice any change in the tone when top wrapped
or not. They are both awesome, and it's hard to improve awesome. I do
believe that installing a Tusq nut and a high quality bridge contributed a lot
to the awesomeness... but the top wrap didn't matter.
On my two Gibsons, the tone is so awesome that I don't want to change
anything now. They really sound great through my amps and rig. I wouldn't
want to insist that I get more tone and sustain from doing it. My SG Faded special
sustains for about 19 seconds until I can't hear it any more. That's plenty.
My SG special '70s tribute rings for a long time, long enough to give me
what I want for my style.

I use 11s on the faded, and 10s on the '70s tribute. So I dunno about
light strings feeling better. Both of my SGs necks are fast and comfortable,
and I seem to be able to bend the strings when I want to. I don't think
the top wrap makes much difference to that, but I ain't changing it.
I don't screw the tailpiece down tight. I have listened to it like that, and listened
after raising it just a c*nt hair. I like it better raised a little, I think I can hear more
overtones or something.

Sliding a bead down the string before installing is NOT necessary on every
bridge. On my SG '70s tribute, the twisted end does NOT emerge from the
backside of the tailpiece, so I don't use extra beads on that one. That one has
the Gibson stock Nashville bridge. So it's no problem, no beads.
I started using extra beads on the Faded Special... that one has a Tone Pros
bridge. I actually took a Dremel tool and a stone, and stoned a little notch
for each string to wrap around in. If I changed it back, I'd regard those
marks as earned, well earned.