Your first point is quite logical.
However, the second... not if you're going to call the show Star Trek: Voyager instead of Star Trek: Galactica.
Not sure which point is which and whose and what?
But a bit of breaking down under huge stress makes sense.
I was referring to this, posted by vulcan redshirt
vulcan redshirt wrote:
Given that Voyager started before the Dominion War kicked off, and Equinox went eariler still, but still after the wormhole was found, could Equinox have initially have tried to get to the Gamma quadrant end of the wormhole, but found their path completely blocked by space belonging to the 'Krotownon Guard' and being forced to go directly to the Beta Quadrant, in the same way that Voyager did, since they couldn't go around Krowtonan Space. Hence a slightly different flightpath, and the fact that none of the species back up near the Caretaker Array had seen 'a similar ship about 6 months ago', when first encountered by Voyager.
At least they did the Dreadnought ep, implying that other items from the Alpha quadrant did survive the journey.
In the light of the way NuBSG worked out, should Voyager have gone down the rout of perhaps running into a few other Alpha and Beta quadrant ships and forming a ragtag fleet, all trying to get home, but with the likely conflict generated by having a mixed fleet from different species, not all of whom get along?
The reference to when
the Equinox got ship-napped by the Caretaker (after the first wormhole is discovered, yet before the Dominion War) giving them the idea to head for that wormhole, instead of taking the same route Voyager did. That's what I consider logical.
The "ragtag fleet" is what I would call "Star Trek: Galactica" and is an idea I don't like at all.
We have to remember wormholes are notoriously unstable. Yes, we know the Bajoran wormhole was stable due to the Prophets, but how could anyone guess whether they would keep the wormhole open long enough to be there for the Delta-Gamma Quadrant journey? On that alone, a ship would have to weigh a slightly shorter journey but one which has the "warp zone" being possibly unreliable, that if they go that route, the odds of it being there aren't 100% vs. the direct route which is longer, but Earth will be there. And even if something by chance happens to Earth, all the other Federation worlds and Earth colonies would be there.
Also consider both left after the Dominion was revealed. Even in their debut they showed how dangerous they were, exterminating an entire Bajoran colony there and easily took down a Galaxy-class starship. Yes, the Dominion might not be around by the time the Equinox gets to the wormhole, but could they take that chance? For all they know, the Dominion could've been on the upswing and expanded even more, putting the wormhole deep within their space.
The Bajoran wormhole was a longshot, especially given what Equinox & Voyager knew of the tactical situation of the Gamma Quadrant area it was in, the fickleness of wormholes, and the huge distance to it anyway. And from a crew morale perspective, if you're going to Earth, you're always making progress, even if it's a long journey that may not succeed, but going to the wormhole, you're just exploring the opposite side of the galaxy, not making any real headway unless you get to the wormhole and it's still there.