You said "For years I wanted a 1911, but after much thought I decided that I wanted a double action for carry purposes. At this point the idea of having one in the pipe and the hammer back seems like a dangerous one"
Look if that is your reason don’t buy a Glock. They have no lever safety. They have what is called a safe action trigger, but it’s no longer safe once you touch the trigger /trigger plunger. Not that you should be touching it anyway if you are not intent on destroying your target. I like the glock for many reasons, but I find 1911 is the way to carry. Yes the hammer is cocked with one in the Chamber. But you have a lever safety and what is called a secondary grip safety. If one has the lever safety off you can still pull the trigger as long as you’re not griping the handle and it won’t fire.
I own a Springfield 1911 .45ACP
Glock 17C 9mm
And I have owned a sig P226 .357/.40
The Springfield is what I carry, and love .45ACP it’s the only way to drop what needs to be stopped.
Glock 17C 9mm great for accuracy but not safe for carrying because of the ported barrel. Go only with the regular standard barrels if you get a Glock.
I loved the Sig and plan on getting another one, but it has to be in .45ACP for myself. The Sig is what I would recommend as a double action. It does not have a safety, but with a 9 pound trigger pull if the hammer is decocked makes it safe enough. Also the auto decock lever dropes the hammer safely. Comes in 9mm, .357sig, .40, 45ACP. If you get for example a P226 in .357 you can also get the extra .40 barrel for it, and shoot bolth types of rounds when ever you feel the need.