[Tom Line]

A crab drive will push with as much torque as you gear it to. Just like any other drivetrain. A crab drive will be just as fast as you gear it. Just like any other drivetrain.

Drawbacks to swerve include the interior space required, reliability, and serviceability. In addition, swerves can struggle to handle rough terrain as easily as 6 wheel drives.

Of course that can all be overcome by engineering. There were swerves that were quiet effective at going over the bump in '10, and swerves that have had lifting modules to go up a "stair".

The big disadvantage of swerve is the amount of time you are going to take away from working on game specific facets in any given year. Anything other swerve disadvantage (again ignoring the complexity and difficulty in making it) is really just an engineering challenge that can be overcome.

I don't think you can really ask what is better without taking complexity and manufacturing difficulty into account.