How do you protect your stuff in panniers

[Ham]

My main commute pannier for years was the Carradice Bike Bureau https://carradice.co.uk/shop/panniers/bike-bureau-pannier/?v=79cba1185463

Spendy, but unbeatable for clothes and laptop.

Yes, that was the other option, so you would rate it highly?

It would be my first choice, here are the pros and cons as I see it

Pro -

It is the only pannier I have ever had that has withstood the rigours of London commuting (the road muck is aggressively wearing)
The size is cunningly combatted by hanging at an angle on the pannier, giving heel clearance. The Rixen+Kaul fittings are up to the job.
The waterproofing from the underside is strengthened by rigid plastic
It is large, able to stow a cunningly folded suit alongside tools and laptop
It has multiple pockets, letting you isolate wet stuff (and yes, a plastic bag could do that, too, but the flap pocket is ideal, and helps protect everything else)
It is relatively smart

Con -

Spendy
Comparatively heavy (a factor of the size)
When it does get wet the canvas can take a while to dry, and adds to the weight. Reproofing may help, something I never did but didn't find an issue
Leads to carrying a load one sided, rather than balanced across both sides. The one time I found that an issue was when I used it for touring.
It is "sided" meaning you can't swap it to the other side
After about 10 years, the plastic on the bottom can age

Over <cough> years of commuting into London, i tried pretty much every type of pannier. Any pannier is  a compromise, the Bike Bureau would be my first choice for commuting with a laptop because of its waterproofing, ruggedness and carrying capability. I've had two over about 15 years, with the first lasting about 12.

[andrew_s]

The dome nuts in an Ortlieb broke the vent slots in the underside of my last laptop, so some form of padding to hold the laptop clear of the nuts would be required. I found a paperback to be suitable.

Is it a version with an inner pocket?  I assumed they were there to form some sort of barrier, not just for wear, also to protects knuckles when grabbing something quickly.  If I were carrying delicates in mine, I'd probably add a thin sheet of foam in the pocket.

It's a version that pre-dates inner pockets, which I wasn't aware of until your post.

[Kim]

IIRC the inner pockets are available as a spare part.  They're quite good for keeping paper flat and things like keys more easily accessible, without significantly detracting from the "one big space" that's generally desirable in a touring pannier.  Not sure they'd provide much protection to a laptop on their own, but could restrain something more rigid (book, sheet of correx) that might.