@H20 70: Thanks for your response. The situation being considered is dire, no question. It's an interesting rescue effort to ponder. FWIW, I had similar thoughts to what ptyx articulated.
Could you please elaborate on the reason for making the distinction between finding the diver with the regulator in mouth vs. out of mouth? My guess is that there is a higher probability that: (1) the diver just recently stopped breathing and/or (2) the diver's airway is protected.
I still think that the best course of action when finding a non-breathing, unconscious diver with reg not in mouth would be to do a prompt (60 ft/min) ascent with the victim to the surface. Shooting him to the surface unaccompanied may save about 1 min, but without you at the surface to yell and get the attention of others, it may be another minute before they realize that the victim is now at the surface. Precious time is lost. Unless there's an issue that I'm overlooking, I still think the best course of action is to accompany the victim to the surface.
Personally, I've already decided that I will not burden myself with a deco obligation during a rescue operation simply because it forces me have to make even tougher decisions once the victim is located. If I barely tripped into deco during the ascent, then I'd still most likely choose to accompany the victim to the surface. My Suunto computer uses a conservative algorithm, and I'd be willing to accept the minimal DCS risk.