If you miss the target, which is a lot more likely in a dynamic shooting scenario than at the range, then JHP rounds will pretty much do the same, as they generally do not open up when they encounter barriers. In general, you cannot depend on this safety factor, although its presence and effectiveness in certain cases may be a comfort, and I totally understand. My point is that if the baby's nursery is behind the target, then you should still hold your fire, even when using JHPs.
To each their own, but I can envision possibly having to penetrate barriers in civilian self-defense scenarios. For example, if an assailant whose main goal is to kill you takes cover inside your home, then it may be advantageous to be able to effectively shoot through his cover. Another example is defending yourself while on foot from somebody who is trying to run you over with an automobile (as a result of "road rage"). In such cases, frangible bullets or JHPs with plastic inserts designed to open the round up no matter what would be a disadvantage, in my opinion.
Your Gold Dot examples are simply failures, which can occur with any bullet design, including the Golden Saber that you prefer. Generally Gold Dots are among the most reliable expanders, but you could have gotten a bad batch (it happens).
The Golden Saber was also designed for law enforcement, by the way, and although jacket separation has always been a weakness of the design in the context of penetrating barriers, it'll still punch through most just fine.
