If the SAR crews get launched, it would be in weather the line pilots had already chosen to fly in
Not sure what weather your SAR crews launch in, but in the UK it is sometimes when the 'line pilots' and everyone else has their cabs safely tucked up in the hangar that the SAR crews launch.
Skill set seems to be the same
Just a bizarre comment. Tell me when winching to decks/cliffs/the water/mountains is part of the 'same skill set' for the vast majority of pilots.
Exposure to risk seems identical
Even more bizarre - the time that the crew and ac are exposed to risk (by most definitions) in the SAR role is much greater than vast majority of other helicopter ops.
All in all Matthew, your post seems to show a marked lack of knowledge of what is involved in SAR.
Apologies for thread drift,
AFAIK SAR pilots get paid slightly more than line pilots, but I couldn't put a %age figure on it.