RE: I could really use some help.
When you've got the CG within the safe range, you've got a safe handling model. "Safer" is subjective. In fact, the extra safety is mostly in your mind when you're biasing the CG just a bit more noseheavy. With the CG in the safe range, your elevator response will almost certainly be adequate and about all that changes is how fast the pitch changes with elevator movement. And if you're even a halfway decent pilot, you will be fast enough to deal with it wherever it is.
What you actually gain from having the CG closer to the NP is a more efficient glider. And the difference in efficiency isn't something that slams you in the face, it's more apt to just rustle your hair. It's hard for us humans to notice that our glider stays up a little longer or gets up the towline a bit quicker. Efficiency is what wins contests by small margins, not huge crushing thumps, that is when you're comparing a 5% SM to a 10%. And you might not get it unless you also tune your elevator throws a bit to match. The better efficiency might be there but you're still slamming the TX stick like before and overflying. Matter of fact, you need to pay attention to your elevator throws when changing CG.... in either direction.
Move the CG forward and you do lose efficiency, and you might need more max elevator throw.
Move the CG aft and you gain efficiency, and you probably will gain even more if you tailor the elevator throw to the new effectiveness. (Or at least not lose what you've gained.)
The CG/elevator throw is one of those deals where experience comes into play. Good thing about our hobby is that it's so wonderfully easy to test stuff. And the even more wonderful thing is that it's so hard to see that stuff clearly that we can decide without breaking a sweat that whatever we do, it helped..... grin.