Clamping diodes or TVS
Schottky diodes are generally much faster. Take the SMBJ TVS you linked. It is a general purpose TVS and the recovery time (tr) is not even specified. On Figure 4, you can infer that tr is in the microsecond range.
There are TVS specifically designed for ESD which are much faster. Take PESD5V0S1 for example, tr is inferred to be in the nanosecond range.
Check out the capacitance -- SMBJ5.0: &gt;10000pF, PESD5V: 45pF. The SMBJ is not suitable for many (if not most) digital signal applications.
It is true that TVS such as SMBJ can absorb a significant amount of energy and do that directly. They are designed more for power applications but are not useful for most signal applications directly (more so when coupled with their high leakage current).
Take the SMBJ5.0, it is intended for 5V but with a breakdown voltage of 6.4V-7.0V. That is way above one diode drop above 5V or the maximum condition of most 5V digital logic. If one try to cheat a little and work in a lower voltage TVS, then the leakage current goes up even higher.