I'm doing a combination of big and small.
I pack my preps in mylar bags w/ O2 absorbers. I pack some in large mylar bags in 5-gallon 90-mil foodgrade buckets. Larger containers are easier, but if the bag or seal is breached, I'll lose 5 gallons of stuff (I have rice and wheat berries packed this way). It's easy to see how it's sealed; if I do it right, the bag pulls in on the wheat or rice, creating a partial vacuum which is very evident. Presumably then, the bucket will protect the bag from further damage.
I also have packed beans and lentils and pasta (spaghetti) in smaller gallon-sized mylar bags (w/ O2 ABs). I can get about 5-6 pounds in each. My thinking on these is they'll be able to be used in smaller batches, and even be tradeable if that would be desirable. And if one package is breached, I'll lose only 5-6 pounds of food, not the whole bucket. I can only get about 25-28 pounds in a bucket this way, as opposed to about 33 pounds with one large mylar bag.
So I'm trying to get the best of both worlds. I have some basmati rice in smaller bags, in addition to the larger buckets-sized batches of long-grain white rice.
I also have some small mylar bags of spices, peppercorns, dehydrated onion and garlic. Smaller batches so they can be used w/o compromising an entire large batch.
Hopefully that helps in giving you some ideas.