I have a few of them set up around my camp but it doesn't seem to stop any of the cannibals, they just run right into my camp and start smacking me

Despite the other comments, they actually do have an in-game function beyond decoration. If you light them on fire, cannibals will back away, some even run off in terror. If there is a big group attacking you and you need some breathing room you can light one up and stand near it for protection.
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bullshit. I've got lit effigies all around the outside of my base, the cannibals walk right up to them and erect their own effigy right next to mine, seen them doing it. Assholes. Lit or not, they do absolutely nothing.
I find them to be very hit and miss, lighting them on fire sometimes makes them not come any closer and sometimes they do absolutely nothing
Consume resources. That is all.
The best defense, other than building over water is to build bonfires in a circle around your base and lit them on fire. Ensue you leave enough room to barely make it through and cannibals will never make it.
not. a. single. god. damned. thing.
I got bored so used modapi + cheatmenu's instabuild to just litter the area in dozens of effigies, lit those suckers on fire, all the cannibals do is stare at them and then erect their own effigy right next to mine.
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I don't think so. I've heard some people say they work, but even after lighting one on fire (I built a large one) it just seemed to make the cannibals more angry. After it was done burning the effigy just disappeared.
I think they look mildly cool/disturbing, but like other people said they're generally useless. I do wish if enough are set-up it scared off at least weaker cannibals.
In update 0.62 they fixed issues with the effigees so that they need to be LIT before they do anything. But even then they MAY scare cannibals away but they MAY also attarct cannibals due to the fire itself (which attracts cannibals anyway) and also that you've just put bits of their mates on there which angers some of them them and can causes them to attack.
I think this is a better way for them to work as in the real world (if we suspend reality for just a moment :)) a lit effigee of your mates is going to have that effect on a group.
I don't believe effigees have any effect on mutants.
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Nope, they're completely useless. Don't bother with em. Use a bunch of Noose traps, those work the best. Can kill cannibals while hanging upside down easily from afar with bow, or up close with any of the melee weapons, and sometimes other cannibals will gather round to free them, and you can get a bunch hurt at once with a molotov or fire arrow, dynamite, explosive, etc.