I (as of yesterday) did a run with all 4 factions. And my number 1 choice remains what it was at the very beginning; NCR.
I am a student in politics and communications, so propaganda and the like are pretty much central to my interests. I believe in democracy first and foremost, because human nature more or less guarantees a person with much power will mis-use it. As good ol' Abe said, ''Nearly all men can stand adversity. If you want to test one, give him power''. And so many have failed that test miserably it's not even funny.
Which brings us to New Vegas. First, Yes Man, while a very cool path and character and all, is simply not an option. Yes Man more or less flatly states he will run the show as he sees fit, and an army of killer robots lead by a (potentially) mad AI is not exactly the best way for a brighter future as far as humans are concerned. Plus, even if he does obey the courier, s/he could be a power-crazy asshole, or just a moron who punches everything that looks funny. Too much unreliability here (independent does have good endings if the Courier is intelligent, but no guarantees s/he actually is)
Now, for Caesar. He has somewhat good intentions, I guess. And his good sides stop right there. He holds his faction together by violence and butchery, which either doesn't last long or end with a path of wanton destruction carved through the land (see Mongols and Nazis to a lesser extent). He is a slavist, racist, hypocrite, pseudo-intellectual ass whose only uses his power to acquire more power by horrific means, then justifies it by saying ''oh, but wait, once I get New Vegas, I will reform my armies, build a true empire, people will flock to me and the friggin clouds will part and a thousand angels will distribute sexbots to everyone!''. Yeah. right. How many times did this actually happen in history? People never wilfully relinquish absolute power when they have it. It's never happened. It will not happen. Oh, and we also have Lanius, who just kills everybody he can't enslave, even the peaceful doctors and respected adversaries.
Mr. House is the last one, and is a bit trickier. He says he has great plans, yes. He says. That's the problem. He only ever does that, saying ''oh, but I could make the Wasteland a paradise, just give me a robot army and kick the asses of the two other major factions single-handedly! Then listen to me saying how awesome I am while the epilogue plays out and only says New Vegas is orderly, but cold and despotic!''. His long-term goals make little sense anyway; why would the NCR establish a trade relationship with him? He just denied them the extremely valuable Hoover Dam and New Vegas. Plus, he has nothing to trade, the people of New Vegas (who remain a shithole under his watch) were fed and cared for either by the NCR or a local group he has no control over (Kings and Followers). New Vegas produces only robots, casinos, and the power to keep these things working. You don't make an economy or nation based on that, and House has shown to be capable of nothing else.
As for the NCR, they are far from perfect. Corruption, obstrusive bureaucracy and bull-headed patriotism aboundé But it's still so much better than a dictatorship, because it has stability and longevity. Once a democracy is established, it's very difficult to take down, the idea is ingrained and inspiring. A tyrant can be forgotten as soon as he is deposed. A democracy has legitimacy in itself. A tyrant is only legitimate so long as he has a bigger stick than the others. A democracy has a certain amount of care to it's citizenry (if only for that whole ''election'' business, a Tyrant cares for himself and the people who allow him to stay in power.
So of course NCR has flaws, the game would be boring as hell. if they were shining paragon of white knight virtues who brought about enlightenment to the Wastes peacefully. But they still are a far better alternative than slavery, despotism, or anarchy in my books. Look at what they have actually done: establish trade routes with New Vegas; build huge farms to feed the population with their own manpower; protect the Mojave from the gentlemen over the river; establish cordial relations with House; fight other sorts of troubles (Khans and Fiends, mostly); help communities that accept them (look at Goodspring's and Primm's endings with NCR). It's not just a blind love for democracy I have; they have done more than any other major faction, and their epilogues are, apart from sometimes independent, the best for most of the factions of the Mojave.
