Joe... Your list on hardiness of bananas here in the valley is pretty much on par with my experiences here in Modesto....( I bet that I have spent at least 2k on experimenting as well.
My thoughts are ...plant a " Good tasting " banana that will fruit year after year... is much better than wasting money on an "excellent tasting" banana- plant that dies to the ground when the temps hit 30f
Mike...
I have the some of my bananas up against the house for wind protection.... much better presentation with out many shredded leaves, However the bulk of my banana growing is out in the open in lot about a mile from my house, where there is no windbreak... and the plants do just fine... though they look ratty in midwinter.... they are fully leafed out by april.
BTW...If anyone is interested...I have another CalGold on ebay.... A couple of my plants are getting ready to blossum... they tend to send out a couple of pups at this time and I now have 2 extras.
Jeff
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...MESE%3AIT&rd=1