I like my Creative Grids half square triangle ruler as it has the dog ears cut off already! I then can sew HST together by lining up the corners and going. The squares press open at just the right size.
For anything else with tips, it depends: am I going to have 16 layers at this intersection, or will it just be a few layers and the tips are hidden by the fabric color? For the in between cases, I pick one way and try to stick with it
I do a lot of paper piecing, and the tips always end up staying on those unless I'm joining wedges into a block. Then those tips get cut off.