The point I was making before, is the idea that you won't put yourself in an avalanche prone situation, so you don't need one is stupid. If that was the case, why would you even bother with a beacon?
Best way to never get caught in an avalanche? Stay out of avi terrain. Obviously we all venture in there from time to time, that is why we do what we do.
The only reasons in my opinion to not getting an avalanche bag are that it's either too expensive, or you just don't want to because of the pack itself (weight, poor pack layout, etc). Like a beacon, it's yet another tool to increase your chances of survival, obviously none of which makes up for poor decision making… but granted something does go wrong… hopefully it'll keep you alive.
… and yes, it's easy to sit here and say, should have done this, should have done that. I know I've made mistakes over my time in the backcountry, but nothing has ever resulted from it. I just learned from them and moved on. We all make mistakes, and if you think you haven't, then you are a superhero and remind me never to go touring with you.