Following an earthquake, damaged reinforced concrete (RC) columns, as primary load-bearing members, play a critical role in the overall stability of buildings and in enabling safe access for emergency response, inspection, and initial recovery operations. Under such circumstances, the application of temporary strengthening systems that can be rapidly installed, dry-assembled, and removed after the emergency phase becomes essential. This study presents an experimental evaluation of the performance of three temporary strengthening systems based on bolted steel jackets for severely damaged RC columns. To this end, one-third-scale RC column specimens were first subjected to quasi-static cyclic loading to induce severe damage and were subsequently temporarily strengthened using three different configurations: a steel jacket equipped with energy-dissipating plates, a steel jacket incorporating a corrugated steel sheet, and a steel jacket with a lateral knee brace. The strengthened specimens were then re-tested under cyclic loading combined with a constant axial load. The results indicate that all three systems are capable of reducing damage concentration in the plastic hinge region, restraining buckling of longitudinal reinforcement, and significantly improving the cyclic stability of damaged columns. Among the investigated systems, the configuration with energy-dissipating plates exhibited superior performance in maintaining effective stiffness and enhancing energy dissipation capacity, whereas the other two systems were more effective in improving core concrete confinement and increasing stability at large displacement demands. The findings of this study demonstrate that temporary steel strengthening systems can serve as practical and effective solutions for enhancing the immediate post-earthquake safety of damaged RC columns.