valve spring height question

It's not 20, it's almost 25... so cut the downplay..
I don't have to convince you of anything.I just have to convince the OP to set them up correctly, which I think he's going to do. If you ever took time to notice, most cam manufactures don't like to see seat pressures over 130 when running in cams. With your theory the seat pressure wouldn't matter, just the over the nose pressure. I wonder why they are concerned with the seat pressure .....
My scenario above isn't about if the 25 will or won't wipe the lobe.. maybe you got a dodgy lifter in the bunch. My point is that if you don't set them up to the recommended pressure then you won't have a leg to stand on if there is a failure. The owner and the cam manufacture would totally be within there rights to blame you for the failure.

So your whole premise is based on who to blame when it fails.
Ever wonder why the same 911 spring is used on cams from .420" lift to .525" lift?
At the same 130 seat pressure?
Because we've all seen the failed cams with the flat base circle.....
So lets compare open pressures.
130lbs @ 1.900 IH -.400" lift=272 lbs open with Comps smallest cam
-.500" lift= 309 lbs open with Comps largest cam.
38 lbs of open pressure over the nose of the lobe difference from smallest to biggest.
Seems like a lot more important than 25 lbs on the base circle when the valve is closed...
But the OP will do what he feels most comfortable with, and that's ok.