I agree with you that guns were important to keep a government in check but unfortunately I believe the government is too big and thoroughly corrupt for even our guns to help anymore. I believe in guns against a tyrannical government in concept but don't see it as a reasonable or rational option in modern society for anything aside from as a deterrent.
Whenever I list defense from the government as one of my reasons to avoid gun control someone invariably pipes up "You know they have drones, right?" I generally say something about how if the government drone strikes a US city that the rest of the country would rise up but I have never felt that that was an adequate response. How do you deal with this debate?