I want to pay a hooker without my wife knowing.
Do I read a mantra on what money should be written by a pseudoeconomist and buy a coin with same the anonymity level as bitcoin?
Or do I use the coin that's agreed upon to have the best anonymity?
How will I ever decide?

I think for you, you should definitely be a Lemming

Follow what you're told. It's the best policy, just ask Ross Ulbricht,
You're the one following the master to his node and paying him for the risk to your privacy. And you probably have spent so much time in that cult that you believe people accidentally instamine coins, but don't have the heart to fair launch. OOOPSY

I completely and thoroughly understand DASH. I understand completely how and how well it protects my privacy. This is why I'm inclined not to trust other solutions, because I see holes in them. Aside from that, if cryptonote were to actually prove to me that it can not be manipulated, I still wouldn't be inclined to back it because it has a major issue in blockchain size. Dash is 50% older than Monero, yet has 25% the blockchain size. Can the chain be trimmed and still be solid? Can this be done with a completely hidden chain such as cryptonote's, which I already don't trust? It's going to be hard to convince me. But I will keep an open mind and continue to try to see my way through this

otoh is by far the biggest DASH holder. Nobody out there touches him. And he bought them all, so I think the dam braking in the begining, and it's subsequent sell off (because it was just another silly alt coin for all anyone knew back then) means absolutely nothing to anyone who is serious about the technology. So it's your loss.