Preferring to play with "good" players...

[Reel Deal]

I think, obviously, a lot of this depends on the game. In a tournament where the blinds keep increasing you can't just play ultra-tight and you're forced to make a move or you'll get eaten up by the blinds. In that setting I'd rather face good players for the reasons you stated TP. In a ring game though, I like to have a loose maniac there where I can just wait him out, hit a monster and take all his money. So, as is usually the case with poker, it all depends.