Where we only have gypsum board walls, I always add wall protection for service corridors in the back of house areas of highrise office buildings. Mainly along the loading dock to service elevator path. Deliveries, furniture, etc. I have used a lot of Acrovyn, painted plywood, and stainless steel.
I feel like FRP is not durable enough, but 1/2" plywood or Stainless might be overkill. Any suggestions or best practices you can share?
Acrovyn is pretty tough, and if screwed on could be replaced. I would not think stainless would be as durable since it would dent. Plywood would get bashed up and look kind of crappy. I would guess FRP would be about the same as Acrovyn. Have you seen specific problems you are trying to address? Maybe impact-resistant drywall as a substrate would improve its performance. Or, skip the protective surfacing and build those partitions with reinforced CMU.
I have used sheet rubber flooring with the steel plate patterning up on the walls, glued to plywood, and that has worked pretty well.