This was my first thought as well, out here I usually hear them referred to just as cow dogs, or Australian Heelers. But yeah, some of the smartest and most agile dogs I've ever seen, and as working cattle dogs they understand protecting and alerting on predators as much as herding, and they are extremely in-tune with their owners.
Only 2 problems I've ever seen with them. The first is they very much tend to be one-person dogs - if you're not their owner, they're kind of "F you" if you try to command them, quite often. I'm sure it can be trained to be minimal, but they aren't the best family dogs because of that - not like a lab. It's more of a limitation, than a problem, if you're cognizant of it. The other problem is they're high-energy and need to be worked, and are best with a lot of outside time, or they'll get pretty squirrely at home. Especially with kids around and a wife they may be a little inclined to not be as obedient to.
These are generalities, of course, and good training and being a good owner can minimize or leverage any of this. But yeah, first thought I had about what kind of dog I'd want in bear country, watching my back, is an Australian Heeler.
That has been my understanding as well. However, I had (passed tragically) a friend who must have been the Heeler Whisperer, Lol. I don’t know if he was that good, had a great breeder, or was lucky in the order. Guy could get them to do anything and they would for anyone else too.
The ones I grew up around that the cowboys had were generally as you described. Pound for pound the toughest animal I’ve ever seen. Take a kick from a 2000# bull then turn around and put him right through a 5 wire fence.