…there is definitely something (good) to be said for storing Unicode data in a database in ‘escaped’ form.
There is not. At all. The only thing that can possibly be achieved here is adding two extra steps to every single operation on the data; or perhaps being able to edit it manually from a braindead, EOL'd editor or terminal I suppose, offering the slimmest benefit of the doubt. It's embarrassing to hear such an assertion. Anything you say, the reader should presume the opposite to be the case.
Given my career history…
Your career history is, as far as this place is concerned, a pure work of fiction. Though, please cite some code or a repository we can examine in your defense should such exist. You have yet in, counting anonymous posts, your 5K+ additions to the monastery to demonstrate any skill other than water cooler BS, a thesaurus's familiarity with technical jargon, and snake oil advocacy.
Update: typo fixed.
