Pace
I am not so certain you are correct.
The chute shouldnt be pulled at a high altitude (unless there is some exceptional reason for doing so, eg structural failure). Give the wind vector on the Avidyne and a reasonably low altitude the pilot will in fact have a reasonable idea of where he is going to land.
However, more to the point the landing will be almost vertical and without a great deal of energy. In contrast a conventional forced landing even well executed will carry a considerable amount more energy and the landing "roll" will be over a much greater distance.
I have seen first hand the effects of light twin (not very different from a Cirrus) landing in a row of houses.
At 1,500 feet with or without the engine the options start to narrow. If you are unfortunate enough to be over a built up area you are unlikely to be able to position the aircraft to ensure no collateral damage and my bet would be on your causing far less damage landing under a chute than not.
It is all very well thinking the average PPL would handle the emergency as well as you - the reality is the majority would not.
Can you imagine for a moment the difference between a Cirrus landing vertically on someones roof and impacting the side of the roof at 70 knots?
So in short it is a big assumption that the pilot without chute is in full directional control. He may well maintain control (although there are plenty of examples where he doesn't) but the options may not be attractive even under control. For those that havent it is well worth getting a mate to pull the throttle at 1,500 when you are not expecting it to happen. It sure as hell concentrates everyone's mind and you quickly realise you need to make decisions reasonably quickly.
It is all very well assuming an engine failure is going to be in the cruise at FL50 and good luck if it is. Chute or not all of a sudden you have a load more options. Unfortunately life doesn't always play by the rules; that is where another option is so invaluable.
Apologies for being reasonably passionate about this topic but I guess anyone with many hundreds of hours on a Cirrus would be. We have had to think about it and we have had to question what we would do. I have read the account of pretty much every chute pull and the banter about most of them. My own opinion is the evidence points to the outcome being a lot more predictable than a conventional forced landing. Case for case there are no guarantees and I shall be happy to never have to reach for the handle.