All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.
A Muslim is not obliged to recite all these Athkaar (legislated mention of Allaah) but he should be keen on reciting as much as he could of the authentic Athkaar which the Prophet used to recite in different occasions, whether it is the Athkaar before going to sleep, or the Athkaar that are recited in the morning or evening, or else. However, the more a person recites these Athkaar, the more reward he gets.
Therefore, if a person can recite all the authentic Athkaar, then this is more appropriate, and if he recites only some of it, he will be rewarded according to that which he recites.
In any case, if one only recites some of it, it is better to vary his choice of Athkaar, in a way that sometimes he says some Athkaar and at some other times, he recites some other Athkaar.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen mentioned two benefits [advantages] for this in his book entitled "Al-Qawaa’id Al-Fiqhiyyah":
The first benefit: Following the Prophet in every matter that he conveyed from Allaah.
The second benefit: Preserving the Sunnah of the Prophet in all its forms.
Finally, it should be mentioned that some Athkaar cannot be dispensed with or replaced by other Athkaar, like the Du’aa "Sayyid al-Istighfaar (the master supplication for forgiveness)": "O Allaah, You are my Lord, none has the right to be worshipped except You, You created me and I am Your servant and I abide to Your covenant and promise as best I can, I take refuge in You from the evil of which I have committed. I acknowledge Your favour upon me and I acknowledge my sin, so forgive me, for verily none can forgive sin except You.” So, saying some other Athkaar does not suffice to dispense with it.
Allaah Knows best.