Using a host off-site to upload the images is a good idea, and with hosting being as cheap as it is definitely worth having. Like you said the advantage being that even if they nick the camera server, your images they can't get to, since they've been uploaded or mirrored off-site.
Regarding doing domotica over the internet, which is a topic for a new thread in itself, I wouldn't recommend it. Besides the connectivity issue which still would have to be 'client-sided' etc, this would leave your whole automation system reliant on the good grace/uptime of your ISP.
