NEW GriGri vs Mad Rock Lifeguard for lead belaying

IF you have *PERSONAL EXPERIENCE* with *BOTH* the *NEW* (2019) GriGri and the Mad Rock Lifeguard, please share your impressions on which one pays out rope to a leader easier (with the fewest unwanted lockups) while using a 9.0-9.8 mm rope.  Thanks in advance!  If this question is in any way confusing, please see below for clarifying remarks.

1) Yes, I have searched the forum and although the question has been asked before, it does not appear to have been directly answered with a claim of direct personal experience with both devices.
2) I am asking only about lead belaying.  Not top-roping, top-belaying, lowering, rapelling, self-belaying, rigging...
3) I am not looking for opinions on any other device, including popular GriGri2---these comparisons have been made in other threads.

The lifeguard is my main device and it feeds easier than the New GriGri but neither are significantly different IMO.

When treated like a normal ATC, the Lifeguard hands down pays out rope easier with "fewer unwanted lockups". However, even though the Lifeguard feeds more readily in "ATC mode", it is still possible to get it to lock up when throwing out a bunch of slack very quickly, or when using a fatter or stiffer rope. Therefore, when my parter is sending hard or making desperate clips, I still use the "hold the cam down with the thumb" technique to make absolutely sure there are no unwanted lockups. Unfortunately, this technique is not quite as easy to employ with the Lifeguard: The curved lip/flange on the faceplate of the GRIGRI makes hooking the index finger under it while keeping the rest of the fingers around the rope and the thumb on the cam very easy to do by feel. Since the Lifeguard doesn't have much of a flange to speak of, holding down the cam is more difficult.

If you like to belay with this "hold the cam down with the thumb" technique and it is your more default hand position, the GRIGRI is superior. You can cradle the GRIGRI with the thumb on the cam and one index finger under the flange, still control the brake strand, and be in position to defeat the cam and it all feels rather ergonomic. Furthermore, switching back and forth rapidly between standard ATC-style belaying and holding the cam down is easier with the GRIGRI because you have a larger target to hit with your thumb and fingers than you do with the Lifeguard. The Lifeguard requires more precision and practice to use in this way and even then it can still be a little tricky.

I know you weren't asking about this, but lowering on a GRIGRI is more controlled and modulated. The materials of the Lifeguard seem better, but the tolerances of the two halves fitting together seem not quite as tight as on the GRIGRI. Lastly, the rope can slip through the locked Lifeguard if you don't have your hand on (or significant weight on) the brake strand of the rope. I know these aren't "hands-free" devices, but I'll trust a locked off GRIGRI to hold myself on rappel or a hanging climber hands-free whereas I do not trust a Lifeguard to do so.

In my opinion, the GRIGRI is a more versatile device in general and it is my go-to. However I still have a place for the Lifeguard (harder mulit-pitch climbs with long ass approaches) because of its compact size and weight. This is somewhat limited by the fact that my partners, usually unfamiliar with the Lifeguard, often prefer bringing the GRIGRI up these sorts of climbs so the Lifeguard often gets left behind anyway.

I use both. +1 for Josh's response.

Having used a lifeguard for a long time, I ended up swapping it for a Gri Gri. Depending on the rope, the lifeguard doesn't completely lock when rapping or lowering (when the Gri Gri would). A few raps on the Heart lines was enough to convince me to sell the Lifeguaird.

I used to own a 2019 GriGri. I Also own a Lifeguard. The lifeguard is much easier to belay with, it's lighter, and feels more premium. The lifeguard doesn't cam properly sometimes for rappelling, but i guess that's the cost for easier belaying. 

Thank you all for your helpful and thoughtful replies. 

I have a lifeguard (and an og grigri and a V2 GG) and have used a friends  gri-gri+. I think the biggest thing the lifeguard has going for it is it's so compact and light. It fits inside a small HMS type carabiner.