Is the bondage important

I still enjoy playful tickles quite a lot and a good tickle fight, but overall, bondage is preferred. It's definitely a kink of mine along side tickling, adds to the exchange of power, and can also keep a you from getting kicked (or kicking someone) in the face when going all out on a pair of ticklish feet.

Restraint of some kind is important, but I like to alternate between formal bondage and just holding a body part down with my body/hands. The latter is hard when I'm the 'ler, as I'm rather petite...but I like receiving it that way as well hehe.

For me it depends.
I would not want to never have bondage involved. It increases that feeling of helplessness that I long for.
Sometimes it feels good to wrestle it out, but sometimes I just want to be unable to defend myself at all.
Lers and switches might enjoy the challenge of no bondage. I’d imagine straight up lees are more inclined to desire total restraint.
I’m a lee, and the idea of there being the option to defend myself (maybe I will win) makes me less excited.