1)I think there can be problems, i.e. I don't think the people reporting actual problems are fibbing.
2)I think the frequency of problems is low enough to disregard. I may think about this differently than most, maybe because I have a stats degree, but I don't worry about any failure modes that are, say, less likely than one in 100K or whatever. I will probably never fire a shot in anger, and the odds I will ever fire, say, more than 20 rounds in anger are just astronomical. When you think of all the risks of a gun fight, the chance of a 1 in 100K risk surfacing on one of those 20 shots is in the noise, for me. But, risks are something people have very personal views on; everyone should do what makes them comfortable.
3)I'd prefer to not have the lock, and would even pay extra to not have it. To me, they are useless, like trigger locks. If someone steals the gun, or has a little bit of time with it, the internal or a trigger lock won't help - they will defeat the trigger lock or find a key to the internal lock or whatever. A locked container of some kind is a much better way to prevent unauthorized use.
So, bottom line: I'd prefer they didn't have the lock, but I don't think having a lock is a big deal. If I cared, there are non-locking aftermarket lock replacements.
Edited to add: the next thread I went to read was about a cracked Chiappa Rhino. We've all seen those kind of thing, or the S&W that sent the barrel flying down range or whatever. Those rare failures just aren't worth worrying about. The poster doesn't give a round count, but states he has shot it usually multiple times a week for 4 years. While a failure like that would reeeeeaaaaallly suck in the middle of a fight, the odds of it happening in a fight instead of at a practice session are very small.
