[beriac]

Interestingly, that argument only goes so far. Because you get the bump in your equity when you buy into one of these guaranteed tournaments where the numbers aren't enough to justify the cash prize outlay, but before people's rebuys and add-ons add to the pot, they have to get all the way up to the original threshold first, which basically soaks up that prize equity advantage you had going in. It's still advantageous to be in them, chip-wise, but in my experience if you don't plan on doing re-buys yourself, it's a much bigger gamble because you have to take out people at your table 2, 3, 4, or more times before they're gone, but if you ever lose it's over. It's a tough proposition, kind of playing in a tourney with many more players than advertised (and prizes to match of course). As you say, you can wait for great cards and catch the chaotic all-ins or all-in calls, but even then I've found I'll get 2-3 calls for my all-in on AA and just get sucked out anyway!

I prefer freezeouts, but I see the merits of both.