Yikes! I can see why that would freak you out. We installed our own frameless shower glass and after watching the videos on line and handling the stuff I'm now super freaked-out about it breaking. I really can't say whether the deflection you're seeing is normal or not. Hopefully someone will chime in.

But here are a few thoughts:
~I think it if were me I would ask the opinions of a couple other glass experts. I know there is one company on line that has lots of how-to information and I called them with a question at one point, because they were the only ones open and I needed an answer right away. Even though I didn't buy my glass from them they were super helpful... I can't recall the name but a google search would turn them up.
~If there's even a shred of doubt, I'd go with one of your two options. HOW different are the non-drilled side clips? My guess is that even though you think they'll look mis-matched now, you probably won't notice it after a while. I've had to add a piece of clear plastic "stop" at the top edge of my door/sidewall joint, because for whatever reason (settling?) the two pieces have shifted slightly and the gap between them is now too close for my comfort. I was super upset about this at first, because it "wrecked the visual effect", but, honestly, I don't even notice it anymore.... Also, we do have silicone attaching our side wall to the tiled shower wall, and it's amazingly strong. It also looks great. And we haven't had any mold at all growing in it. We do have a good bath van. But, you know, even if mold did grow in there eventually, you could slice the old silicone out and install fresh stuff without too much trouble, I think.

Good luck!
Stacey

Your fixed panel is attached at the top and bottom, that's good.

Usually there will only be excessive flex in the fixed panel if there's too much play in the door hinges, or if the hinges are misaligned.

Not my area of expertise though.

Wilson Glass has been a pretty god resource for me over the years.

Oh, that's the one, mongoct: Wilson Glass... they are very helpful!

Regarding the silicone wicking moisture: why not just start the bead of silicone a couple inches up the wall, if that's a concern and you like that solution best?

Thanks, Mongo and Stacey. I haven't been successful in getting Wilson on the phone but I've been reading their website. The pictures of all those people bouncing on the tempered glass was reassuring, though. DH talked to a few glass companies while on his business trip and both thought the wobble was quite normal/not dangerous with this type of clip installation. Both also agreed that a center clip on the vertical side would fix the wobble even though it wasn't necessary for safety reasons. Also, in their opinion, ordering a new 1/2" panel would decrease the wobble but not eliminate it completely so they advised against taking on the unnecessary expense. Now I just have to get our installer back to see if I can live with the clips or whether to go with the silicone. Thanks, again.

Just wanted to let folks know that we went with the additional side clip solution to our problem. The panels are completely wobble free now. Also, even though I know the additional clips don't match the top and bottom clips, I can't tell the difference. So I doubt that anyone else would either. The other thing I was afraid of---that the extra clips would detract from the all glass look of the shower---is also a non-issue. One more issue resolved!

Great! Glad to hear it all worked out :)

I love it when people let us know how things turned out!