Protection

I wouldn't worry, plenty of people (including me) use the carbon knuckle ones. I really like them. I've tried bigger ones like hockey and cricket ones, and find them really restrictive.

Which ones are you getting?

I have the RockGardn FATE gloves:

I got the fake Oakley ones from eBay, for £10 I figured they were worth a try. Wore them last night, and they were good. They're pretty close-fitting, so much easier to turn mallet over on the fly than what I'm used to. Despite the thick neoprene there; the tops of fingers and thumb feel slightly vulnerable compared to hockey gloves. The RockGardns look like they're better than the Fakleys in that respect, but rest of hand is well protected.