Hi Nate,
First of all reading up on your website about automation and z wave I would say this is very useful!
While browsing the web on this topic a question pops up quite many times and yet I am still trying to find the answer to it. Let´s say I want to use the z wave system to build an alarm. Assuming that scenes and everything is programmed to have the same features (siren, cameras, motion sensors, text message etc) as a standalone alarm unit. What would be the main difference compared to a normal alarm kit? To my understanding z wave could offer more advanced alarm features. Is that correct? 
If one can use the z wave system to build a complete fully functional alarm system then why do most sites recommend to integrate a separate alarm system with z wave? 
Thanks and best regards,
Peter