What's better?
To have the gear in the lantern or in the post?
For example the LPS.

I would say BOTH.....in USA...the older installations was on the pole or in a "paint can" and those fixtures would be clamshells, or a Merc radial wave or merc gumballs......

but today fixtures are Cobraheads with gear inside the fixtures
we also have "RETRO" gumballs with gear INSIDE...back then merc gumballs would have gear outside

In the UK, there are some very nice lanters with external gear, and there are very few lanterns whith internal gear which are nice. I think it is because the older control gear is more bulky and an old internal gear lantern looks more bulky like the Revo Lucidor B top\side entry lantern.

i likr it when the bulbs up top and the ballast is in the base of the pole makes my job alot easier

A ballast and cap/igniter operating inside fixture with lamp will run much hotter than if it is remote mounted in many cases. I would think that ballast life expectancy would be longer if mounted outside...as long as moisture doesn't get to it.

I would agree that the gear would run hotter and might not last as long inside the lantern. However my preference is to have the gear in the lantern.

I think it's better when the gear is in the lantern. But, I never saw a lantern where the gear is in the post, because in Austria SOX lighting is very very rare.