When I first started brewing I used buckets for my fermentation, it's what came with my "starter" kit. The buckets are great, as most have said wide opening, easy to clean, etc. BUT, there are cons. I started noticing that the buckets started holding the smell of my last batch of beer no matter how well I cleaned it. Hot water, PBW, soft cloth, the smell was still there. It was more noticeable when I would store the bucket when I wasn't brewing and the lid was on to keep up dust and such and then take the lid off to give it another cleaning before use.
I'm sure that the wort smell from brews past might not impart the flavor of a new brew but, I stopped using the bucket for that reason and moved onto glass carboy's. Liek you I had a fear of dropping or even having the carboy cracking while moving it. I started putting all my glass carboy's into these half milk crates from the container store:
http://www.containerstore.com/shop?productId=10000531&N=&Ntt=milk+crate. That way the glass was protected from anything tapping it from the sides and I figured that if the carboy did crack, the milk crate would contain the shards that could possible maim me. The milk crates make it safer to move around and doesn't put unnecessary stress on parts of the glass to cause it to crack. It might be overkill but, I used to use those stainless mess gloves when I would carry the milk crate with the full carboy so as to not lose an appendage in the event the glass cracked inside the crate.
If you go with the Better bottles or any of the other plastic vessels, that milk crate is still a good investment for those as well. Cut a piece of ply wood to fit at the bottom of the crate, put your better bottle in and fill. This way now, when you move your better bottle around while full, the bottom won't flex and suck in anything from the air lock.
I've recently moved onto a Stainless steel conical since I only brew one 5 gallon batch at a time. If I want to brew another batch while my conical is full, I still have my glass carboy's standing by.
There is always a danger to anything you do in brewing, if the glass doesn't get you then a wet slippery floor will.