Paranoid? Not at all. I agree that avoidance is the first line of defense (I'm a huge fan of running away) and with that, I'm going to copy your suggestions on to some post-it notes and sprinkle them liberally through appropriate sections of my prep library. Speaking of, Pelton's "Come Back Alive" and USRSOG's "Six Ways In and Twelve Ways Out" have a good bit to say about air travel safety and survival.
Charley Shimanski of the Alpine Rescue Team notes that in small fixed-wing craft, the forward momentum is what injures and kills people in crashes. Helicopter fatalities generally result from fire in the aircraft after the crash. The helo typically stays together, the tail boom might come off.
Though a bit off-topic, the following are a bunch of random "points of interest" I've been fortunate enough to pick up from OTHER peoples' experience - not my own, thank goodness. I need to emphasize that I am not a pilot and if there's anything listed contrariwise to anybody's training and experience, please let me know. Regardless, I feel like I'm preaching to the choir here.
First and foremost: In an in-flight emergency, your bag of tricks can't be a big bag; you don't have a lot of time. There's an average of 30 seconds from the onset of emergency to impact (except for a controlled flight into terrain, but there isn't much you can do to prepare for that). So keep emergency gear in your pockets - as others have noted, the
airframe and survival kit may be on fire. The mental checklist should run something like this: Door! Reference! Belt! Grab your nose, guard your nose, get small, escape position.
Make a note of which way the buckle of the seat belt opens every time you strap in 'cause in an emergency you don't want to waste time trying to "open" your seat belt the wrong way.
On impact, do not look sideways.
Having a flight helmet means you're 7 times more likely to survive. If you have a loaner, DO NOT put the visor all the way down, only half way down (though I don't remember the explanation why - anybody?)
Take your wallet out of your hip pocket before you strap in; you'll conform to the seat much better.
In effecting egress, don't kick at the center of the window, kick out the side of the window.
Does your helicopter have floats? Skid mounted floats or fuselage mounted floats? With fuselage mounted floats, push out the window - DO NOT open the door so the sliding door doesn't cut the float. Floats can last up to 20 minutes (or fail at any time). A helicopter with floats will roll in four-foot seas. In any case, get away from the ship.
In some fixed-wings, if the flaps are down the rear doors don't open. Inconvenient at best.
39 lbs buoyancy defeats a fit adult, so don't put on / inflate the life jacket after you get out of the airframe.
When flying at night, some folks tape activated lightsticks to the corners of windows and doors to help identify potential exits. Some military helicopters have an overhead cable that runs right to the door. Pay attention to things that might get you out of the airframe.