I went with the last option since my beliefs are a messy mix of a little from each of the first 3 options.
I agree with the 1st one because I think there are so many weird superstitions about tarot that don't make any sense to me, so I think they're mostly paper and ink. But I also feel like they have some sort of energy to them, hence my agreement with the 2nd option. I don't feel like I need to cleanse mine often - I've yet to experience anything that calls for cleansing a deck out of control wreaking havoc

And lastly I do think that the artist/creator imparts something of theirs to the deck that obviously shows up as the images, their artstyle, choices in colouring and what symbology they present. There's also me kind of doing... something when I use it a lot

I don't know, it's kind of a mess and not a fully formed idea. Basically I think they're mostly ink and paper with some energy to them that's mostly its own, some of the artist and maybe a little of me as I attune to it.