Hilary-
  Wow I hadn't heard about this, thanks for bringing it to our attention!  I didn't use signal for SMS so it doesn't affect me, and I can imagine this wouldn't be fun. I did find the signal blog post that explains how to set default along with rationale and potentially other tips:
https://signal.org/blog/sms-removal-android/

glad they're exportable to another app! Helpful.
warmly,
ajay