I read it to say you still need the guard strips in a garage.
In Florida we have a lot of extra framing in the wind code so there is usually enough cross bracing to provide horizontal paths without adding additional wood.
As for whether the various cables are allowed in unfinished spaces, that is the "physical damage" issue and it is in the eye of the AHJ. In Md it was normal to see RX stapled to running boards in garages, utility rooms and basements. In Florida they usually want something armored (maybe Smurf) and some places (like Miami) wanted conduit.
I would ask the AHJ and see what the current feeling is.
I would not be shocked to find different inspectors in the same jurisdictions had different ideas of what was subject to physical damage and whether that damage was severe or not.
It is one of those areas that I wish was better defined in the NEC.
