I guess the kicker will be if the ecu notices knock quick enough when and if a failure occurs. 3-5 pulls later and your pistons could be melting.

Dsmlink has a knock sensor feature, where if the timing is pulled more than X amount that I set, the check engine light flashes at me, and I pull off the gas. It has been known though that this is a delayed process as by that time it could be to late considering how fast everything happens during a pull.

Dsmlink pulls timing the same way when it see's knock, just like your system. The problem is the lean condition during that pull. The ecu only see's timing retard, not lean conditions. Staying into the throttle will just make it pull more and more timing because there is obviously something wrong.

My point is, I could be just as naive and say, "I've got an ecu that pulls timing, I don't need to worry much about failures because the ecu will retune itself." Have other precautions or viewable gauges to warn you so you can let off the throttle, not just assume the ecu "is taking care of it" and the car is running a tad slower tonight.