Forsyth Jones,
However, I'm not sure if we can compare the SD protection feature present in the Trezor T and Safe 5 to a Secure Element, as a Secure Element is typically a dedicated chip designed to store and protect sensitive information such as private keys or recovery seeds against software and hardware attacks
I am going to go out on a limb here and maybe push your thought process somewhat. I am quite technically aware and I feel that the SD protect feature is every bit as good as secure element ----- EVEN ---- if the SE performs as mfg's would like us to believe they do. I do hope the SE's in Trezor are as good as they tell us they are. I plan on getting a Safe 5 when the prices drop just a bit. So in my conclusion a thief with an SD Protected Trezor T and a SAFE 5 in his booty haul would have basically no better chance to acquire the SEED from either hardware wallet ----- IF the SE performs as indicated. SD Protect is rock solid, proven, and basic mathematics. I am honestly more confident that SD Protect will hold up than the SE because it is new and to me isn't acid tested over time yet. .02
I operate in the linux world so all these programs and advanced features like SD Protect virtually run native in linux. Simple stuff for such a big return in a small time investment.