Did that blood-drinking goddess of death who thrived on human sacrifice do anything for you? Does she make promises that she never breaks? Did she make herself a servant to all, always placing herself in last place in order to make everyone else come first? Did she live a life without sin? Would she be willing to be flogged beyond recognition and then be crucified for my sin? Could she love me unconditionally even knowing that I may stray and dishonor her? Could she fill my entire being with an endless love for everyone I encounter regardless on how they treat me?
Ironically, Kali actually has two aspects in traditional Hinduism: on one hand, she is death itself, a personification of the terror of facing your own mortality, the furious whirlwind of destruction beyond even the control of the gods whose mad revel in carnage will end the world, while on the other hand, she's actually a deeply caring mother goddess who protects those who can face the terror that she represents.
Remember, western religions have a screwed-up view of destruction and death, seeing it as negative and bad. In contrast, Hinduism sees it as a vital part of the world, and of creation itself - all life relies on death and destruction at some level, and without destruction, there would be no room for more life. Even the end of the world is merely so that a new world will be born from the ruins of the old.
As for your questions specifically, technically Kali does grant protection to those who face her. Her promises are pretty simple, and since in Hinduism she will be the cause of the end of the world, you could well say she places herself last. Technically she exists without sin, since that concept doesn't translate to hinduism, and her role as part of the Destroyer aspect of god is vital and necessary. As for being flogged, she's the sort who puts up a fight (which is actually kind of the problem, since she's more powerful than any of the other gods). As for love, as I noted, Kali has a mother aspect, loving and protecting those who accept and understand her in all her terrible glory.
I should note that I'm not *actually* Hindu; I've simply learned a lot about it, and Kali is one of my fiancee's favorite gods. I do, however, find the concept of the Trimurti far more touching than anything I've heard from the Bible. For those unfamiliar, Hinduism is technically monotheistic/pantheistic, with a single god, Brahman, who is, well, everything. Brahman has 3 aspects('gods' is a mistranslation), independent and part of the whole at once: Brahma the Creator, Vishnu the Preserver, and Shiva the Destroyer. Each aspect is vital, as the universe cannot survive without the cycle of creation, existence, and destruction. Each god has consorts and numerous offspring, separate yet part of them (Kali is one of Shiva's consorts, appropriately). To me, the Trimurti is the most elegant metaphor for the nature of life and existence that I have yet seen, including anything from any western religion. I don't strictly believe in it, but I find it exceptionally insightful and beautiful.
Anyhow, this is all quite off-topic. The end point is that not all of us even *want* gods like yours, nor find beauty in the same places. You want eternal life, Hindus want the opposite, to escape from Samsara (the cycle of reincarnation). You see beauty in self-sacrifice; I see beauty in the endless cycles of destruction and creation that pervade our world.
As a last note, I must say that this forum of all places I would expect to find people who understand that death can be a beautiful thing. The beauty of our plants is grown by the deaths of countless animals, after all.
Mokele