Can I be added? Emma's my favorite character, so I might as well not just post and run.

Good point. Emma still has plenty to learn, about both men. (somewhat unrelated: I hope that she learns about Killian's brother and the details of that whole situation, but won't hold my breath.)

And she's going to have to come to terms with a lot of bad stuff, with both men. The difference (as I see it) is that Neal's bad is much more personal. He bombarded Emma with issues when he walked away from her and left her to prison. It destroyed a huge part of her life, on several different levels.

Hook's done plenty of bad things too, but nothing that has directly (or permanently) destroyed part of Emma's life. In fact, it's been largely the opposite. The first time they met, he helped her climb the beanstalk and steal the compass. She betrayed him in that situation, by chaining him and leaving him behind, so a little retaliation was in order from his POV...he is, after all, a pirate, and Emma did not fight fair there. (Though that didn't stop him from all but letting her win their swordfight, when she knocked him out and got home.) When he got to Storybrooke with Cora, he went his own way, and even cooperated with Emma when she tried to get information on Cora's whereabouts (which he genuinely did not know.) And of course the scenes in the finale, when he returned with the bean that took Emma to Neverland after Henry. Not to mention everything that has happened since, guiding her through NL and doing all he can to help her find her son.

So stacking both men up side-by-side, IMO, Hook has been the one standing strong by Emma. He's been much more valuable to Emma at this point, and I do hope the writers will let her realize that. Neal still has some pretty tough personal questions to answer (though I'm sure Emma will never ask them. ) and she's gotta be wondering if Neal will ever be someone she can count on to stick by her side.