Dudmac...
I feel that you are missing the point a little on this one.
The question posed was in relation to a Bosch Rexroth bent axis piston pump. These pumps are unique in that they have a maximum specified inlet pressure. There many other similar pumps that operate in the same manner, both as pumps and motors and yet do not have a stipulated maximum inlet pressure.
I don't doubt your logic in terms of the tribology in piston pumps that handle aggressive or non lubricating fluids, but the pumps in question are designed to run with mineral oil. If you run them on anything else, they wont give you a warranty and the main bearing usually fails well before the slippers wear out.
For the sake of clarity, can you explain what you mean here : "because the damaging pressure comes, not from the inside of the piston, but from outside of the piston in the chamber that sees suction pressure". Outside of the piston chamber is either steel or oil in the pump casing.
In my experience, running these pumps at low or negative pressures tends to separate the slippers from the pistons. So it prolongs the life of the pump to boost it and for all of the reasons list above, the higher boost the better...that is apart from the Bosch Rexroth pumps that seem to dislike excessive inlet pressures for some reason.
For the benefit of the other people that might read this...Having checked again, I see that the minimum outlet and maximum inlet are quoted together and I wonder if they is related in someway???