Sorry, I can't recall who is quoted here:
Well, for actual _physical_ suffering, I'll choose just about anyone
rather than Avon, it seems. Whether I like his coping mechanisms or not, I think they're up to it.<
I prefer to see Avon suffer physically rather than mentally, just *because* he's seems better able to cope with that :-) Actually, I'm not too fond of all that soppy mental suffering stuff, but oh, give me a juicy torture scene! (Medieval-like cellar with an old fashioned rack, that kind of thing - why didn't they *show* us Blake being tortured in Cygnus Alpha?)
I can do without the comfort, though, as we don't see much of that in canon. With the exception of Vila, I can't remember any of the regulars ever showing a desire to be comforted. On the contrary, they all seem to prefer to suffer in silence and alone - that British stiff upper lip :-)
Even Gan, who seems the most "ordinary" of the lot, prefers to take a painkiller in secret rather than tell the others that he's feeling unwell. That really leaves Vila as the only one who'd *want* to be comforted.
Marian (who loves to see the blood drip from the screen and pages but can't stand the sight of it in Real Life :-) )