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This is a question for the marine players since I recently acquired some second hand BTs.

I understand that the Chapter Master can be a bit of a beast. However, it does seem to me that marine characters and units can get very expensive very quickly. I like the idea of giving the Chapter Master a bodyguard of assault terminators in a land raider crusader, but that is pricey as hell.

Is there a consensus as to the best way to field him?

Generally speaking with DIY Chapter Masters, it's better to put them on bikes with an accompanying command squad if you want to go all in. Unlike the Land Raider, who has a chance of getting insta-gibbed by a lucky shot T1, the command squad has a guaranteed 12" movement, T5 with FNP from the apothecary (making it more durable against small arms fire than terminators) and with either jink or (if you choose to) potential storm shields to deal with AP3-2 weaponry. Now to be fair, the terminators have a better damage output, but the chapter master is more than likely going to be your main source of damage anyhow so that's less of an issue.

Another option if you want it to be cheaper is to have honour guard instead. They end up dishing more damage than the terminators due to the greater model count, as long as you give your chapter master the shield eternal, you can put him out front to tank any big AP2 shots from the enemy and LoS any low AP mass firepower onto the honour guard. Positioning is key in this case, as canny opponents will attempt to flank or target the unit away from your CM.