Sounds like you are on a good path.
One knife possibly worth looking at is the Spyderco Matriarch and Waved Matriarch (they also make a Lil Matriarch). These knives are designed specifically as a defensive weapon (and not a tool) and they are good candidates for users with limited experience as they are easy to use and very effective. Their track record in terms of real-world-usage on people also demonstrates that they are very effective defensive weapons with a functional value in a world where most knives rely on the whole tactical advertising snake oil rather than design features that actually make a knife suitable as a last-resort defensive weapon.
This is also an excellent choice in general for last-resort defensive action against human assailants, as well.
One knife possibly worth looking at is the Spyderco Matriarch and Waved Matriarch (they also make a Lil Matriarch). These knives are designed specifically as a defensive weapon (and not a tool) and they are good candidates for users with limited experience as they are easy to use and very effective. Their track record in terms of real-world-usage on people also demonstrates that they are very effective defensive weapons with a functional value in a world where most knives rely on the whole tactical advertising snake oil rather than design features that actually make a knife suitable as a last-resort defensive weapon.
This is also an excellent choice in general for last-resort defensive action against human assailants, as well.