Genghis, with a helicopter the norm is to fly until you are really scared then land. With more experience you tend to land before you get really scared.
After ten years or so on other helicopters I flew an R-22 in good VMC and I reached that threshold after fifteen minutes each way. I have never flown an R-22 since. It does appear that some pilots have a higher fear threshold, or less common sense than me.
The helicopter I fly now has a lightning detect facility. If it shows a series of strikes, I fly round that area and tend to avoid the area under the anvil, using the wx radar to help.
I do have a few hours flying very near T/S's in helicopters, including a few "interesting" ones with a man on the wire plucking very grateful folk from ships. In those particular instances, an ongoing risk assessment had to be made. It was obviously correct, as I'm still here and so are a few folk who might not otherwise have survived.
A small, unstabilised, VFR only equippped helicopter is no place to be in a thunderstorm but running away is sometimes a very good option, even if it means using a few extra heartbeats. The 500 foot rule still applies though!