Glad you and those around you are ok.

Sorry I didn't see this sooner.
Hammer follow is typically the result of:
Hammer hook/sear nose wear(most likely)
Disconnector too short.
Sear spring too light/damaged
Dirty/sludged up internals.

A broken/sludged up firing pin can cause same.

Come see me.

And yes, nothing will destroy a nice 1911 trigger than letting a slide slam closed on an empty chamber.
Due to the relationship of the hammer/sear the slide slamming causes the sear to slam into the hammer hooks and batter the nice crisp angles of the sear nose.
It's two hardened steel surfaces slamming together and the nose of the sear is pretty narrow.
Somethings gotta give.
A loaded cartridge provides a "cushion" that last 1/10th of an inch before the slide goes into full battery.