I am anticipating, from all of this information, that the phone, plus the Defender, will be bulky. I'm currently issuing a Thunderbolt with the expanded battery, so I'm used to wait. I'll put up with some bulk, on order to keep the phone safe. A good cover is invaluable.
Agreed, it makes no sense to make all these docks, that don't accommodate a cover. I can't fit my Tbolt in my desk dock, so use the phone's kickstand to stand the phone up (vertically) against the dock, using the USB charger cord that came with the dock. I also use dock's second battery charger.
Thank you to all.