This is purely my opinion but if a machine let me down and my chances of
getting the machine out unscathed weren't great, I'd have absolutely no
hesitation in putting the needles through the roof in the flare to give me a
little more at the bottom as opposed to extending the flare and keeping the
needles in the green.
Strongly agree. Once the engine quits, the insurance company owns it. The helicopter is expendable. Do whatever you must do to live to fly another day. As my grizzled instructor is fond of saying, "I have never heard of anyone dying from a rotor overspeed."
