These "locks" might reduce theft, but not only they still happen, but you can also make money with a stolen phone. You can sell it for parts. An iPhone will annoy you about the replaced display, but the phone still works. You can transfer the old battery's controller to the new one so the phone doesn't know about the change. You can sell the shell of the phone, speakers, cameras, etc.

Maybe now I benefit from these Apple restrictions and annoyances, but I've been using expensive phones since before Apple started doing this and yet my phone was never stolen. I've cracked a few displays and killed a few batteries though.

What seems to help me is having some awareness of my surroundings. I live in a big city and every day I see people standing by the road waiting for a bus. Phones out, noise cancelling headphones, bikes passing right in from of them... I mean, it's not that hard for a snatcher to take their phone.