Which faction do you want to win the Syrian Civil War?

[HooptieWagon]

8. Ideally, that might be the best case.

Since the question the OP posed was one side or another, I'd say the lesser of two evils is Assad.
Here are my reasons:
First, if Assad prevails, he will reestablish control over the entire country pretty much ending the war. If Assad is removed, no one rebel group can immediately seize control. Most likely they will fight among themselves for several more years, thus leading to many more civilian deaths.
Second, if Assad prevails, there is a much less chance of chemical weapons, heavy arms (RPGs, AA rockets, etc), tanks, and aircraft falling into the hands of AQ. If AQ-supported rebels win, those weapons are probably soon used against US allies in the region.
Third, Assad is a Russian puppet. They have at least some degree of control over him, thus limiting the potential mayhem he can cause at home and in the region. There would be no such limiting influence on the rebel groups.

Yes, Assad sucks. It would be fantastic to have a moderate secular democratic government emerge in Syria. But IMO, thats not likely to happen. Given that, Assad might be the slightly better of two really bad options.