My father was an abusive alcoholic. I used to have fantasies what it would be like if he was not around. I suspect we humans wonder about different circumstances when we are in a rotten situation. From personal experience and observation, I believe asking which is worse is like asking which is worse, a punch in the left eye or a punch in the right eye. Each has it's bad points and each leads to speculation about what life would be like with/without the person.