i strongly agree using silicon tpu or rubbery case that are bendable.
those hard plastic case that are not bendable are useless, just protect from scratches but 0 protection from fall.
i use the mercury case, rubbery kind, during a drop it helps absorb impact.
not saying 100% unbreakable, but chances of survival much much higher than hard case.
another important thing to consider is the case must have some protrusion at the front,
so that when the phone is face down on the table, the case is touching the table instead of the glass.
my colleague's s3 use hard case with no front protrusion,
drop from pocket instant crack. so kesian. fortunately the touch screen still usable but it looks like shit.
i gotta agree with u. the excess protrusion will take away some shock directly away from the screen. many don't realize that those slim cases without this feature will tend to break the LCD when dropped.