As I said not after what gains more I am only interested in what's safer I would think a smic is safer than a fmic even with grills as there's more exposed for stones to fly up
You're missing the point.......
This isn't about the cooler being damaged; this is about what's best for your engine

An SMIC is fine for a standard / stage 1 mapped car. Anything above should ideally have an FMIC
Ask yourself this - a MK5 GTI / Golf .:R (MK6)/ Audi S3 all run FMIC's;
if VW were worried about the intercooler being damaged do you think they'd stick it in the front?