I went for the 147 grain HST due to price/performance. At less than half the price, the HST was a great buy. My best friend uses Gold Dot, but they are provided by his agency (and he shoots .40) so it's not his money going down range.
In my situation, the HST does everything I want it to do. I don't see many self-defence situations where I will have to shoot through windshields but I will need to have enough ammo to make sure it is reliable in my firearm. So, 500 rounds of Gold Dot would be ~$500 and 500 of HST cost me just under $200.
MI_Jester