Definitely should have stayed put.

The second the doors open, he knows they're in trouble, but he's just far enough behind Nick that he can't do anything like trying to shove him out of the way before the giant robot claw grabs him.

"Holy shit," Sam curses under his breath as he keeps moving forward, sparing only a few thoughts for whether or not there's more of those where that one came from. If they move as fast as that one, he'll have maybe a second to dodge, which means he's going to have to keep his eyes open and not spend all his attention on trying to get Nick free.

Nick's obviously struggling with the claw itself, and going over there to try to help him pry them open probably isn't going to help much, so Sam turns his attention to the weaker joints of the arm. He flips his flashlight around, lining it along his forearm and over his elbow to give himself better support - and to pack a bigger punch - as he promptly begins bashing in the metal on the arm, ripping out any wires or cables he can get to with his other hand.

"I don't know what the crap that was, but if this thing opens, better run like hell."