Siberian huskies are very friendly, sociable dogs... THey can be a pain in the ass to train, but for as great with kids as they are, a big black & white husky-malamute mix is one of the most intimidating dogs you'll ever come across, particularly one with a darker colored face.
I don't know if any of you have ever lived in Aurora, Illinois before, but the place is the largest of the Chicago suburbs with one of the highest murder rates in the state. When I used to live there, my family started off with this big, brown German shepherd that made a good guard dog, but once he got old, he got neurotic and was no longer safe around our other dog. Of course, the husky we got shortly thereafter as a companion for the aging female we had already, was by no means a normal dog. He was a 95-pound dog, about 50% heavier than most Siberians will ever get. MASSIVE dog... Not fat, just big.
Hard to imagine anyone without a gun and balls the size of kiwi-fruit wanting to mess with something like that.
If your children are older, a Shepherd is probably a better choice, since older kids can exercise better judgement around animals, and they're easier to train.