This was an excellent read.

20 users ago in my academy we got a strong dose of the sheepdog metaphor. At the time I argued there was a fourth kind of “creature” that I called the porcupine. Soft and squishy on the inside, but with defenses that made the predator think twice about attacking.

Your extension, or alteration of the metaphor is better. I don't think Grossman intended the sheepdog as a symbol to be used the way it was, but that superiority complex is certainly how the “community” ended up running with it.