Almost any other helmet is going to be lower profile than the cheapo Bells. Even the Giro and Bell helmets in the $40 price range are much better at not making you look like a mushroom and the adjustable fit strap systems are much, much better at keeping the helmet on your head than the barely adjustable ones in the cheapest line of Bell helmets. Given this, I'd say that a better helmet is likely to be safer, not less so, simply because it's more likely to stay put.