18650s aren’t simply “better AAs”. You need to treat them with respect, and don’t just assume that everything will be ok if you do something dumb. Any time you have a loose cell you have to think through everything you’re doing before you do it, then stop and check again.
And “protected” cells aren’t magically safe either - they can potentially prevent certain classes of failure, but they’re not idiot proof, and they can make you complacent.