I used to be of the opinion that rear mudguards were for wimps. They aren't. They remove a completely unnecessary piece of unpleasantness from riding, with no real drawbacks whatsoever - I only wish I hadn't been so pig-headed about them for so many years...
I swear by the race guard... by far the best 11 quid you could ever spend on your bike

Even from an aesthetic point of view the race guard really suits some bikes (looks great on a hardtail Kona, at least.)
On the other hand I don't see any particular need for a front mudguard. On-road, with the higher speeds, they might have more value, but off-road I hardly ever seem to get mud or water flung at my face, even with fat tyres and skinny steel frame tubes.
Just fit a race guard and laugh smugly at the deluded "hard men" squirming around with cold muddy backsides
PS - when I was commuting, the other piece of wet-weather gear that improved my life immensely was neoprene overshoes. They definitely take a bit of bravery to be seen wearing, but having warm, mostly dry feet makes a huge difference to your overall comfort. Mine are Endura ones with a huge scotchlight patch on the back of each which really caught the attention of following drivers when it was less than bright out.