REI LLC vs DBA and overall structure question

[Tam Nguyen]

I'm relatively new to REI but am at the stage where I'm looking to acquire more rentals (mostly out-of-state). To date, I have a few rental properties (1 in CA where I reside, and another out of state). These are all in my personal name at the moment. My goal is to move the current rentals and all future acquisitions out of my personal name and into formal LLCs for asset protection and anonymity. At the same time, I'd like to operate under 1 name (entity) across my portfolio but am not sure of the best way to go about it. Below is how I currently have my LLC structure set up along with options I've been considering.

NOTE –

Bold = items established today

Non-bold & Italic = future items not yet established

ABC LLC should be the primary holding company for EVERYTHING

ABC LLC (WY Holding)

    |__ XYZ LLC (CA subsidiary LLC - where I currently reside w/ 1 LTR)

    |__ Subsidiary A LLC (another out-of-state LLC w/ 1 LTR)

    |__ Subsidiary B LLC (future out-of-state LLC)

Option 1 --- (1) Operate under XYZ LLC as primary business name and entity; (2) XYZ LLC is owned by ABC LLC; (3) All other subsidiary LLCs are owned by XYZ LLC

Option 2 --- (1) Establish a DBA in CA and link it to XYZ LLC; (2) Operate under DBA as the primary business name and entity for all rentals; (3) XYZ LLC and all other subsidiary LLCs are owned by ABC LLC

Question(s):

(a) In option 2, would I need to register the same DBA in every state I end up acquiring a property in or will doing that in CA be enough?

(b) I'm assuming tax implications would be the same in both options but not sure since option 1 is a 2-tier structure where as option 2 is a 3-tier structure

If there are any modifications or other options I should consider, please feel free to let me know. Thanks in advance for any guidance/thoughts on which option you think would be the ideal path forward and why you think that.