Better to let Paladin Thom Hardwin die ! Right ?

[ej]

At the end of "Dark dealings in the Blackpits" I failed to save Paladin Thom Hardwin. So I reloaded and tried again and managed to save him. Comparing the two situations, I found out that letting him die makes me lose about 11.000 XP but makes we win amazing gear (especially a great shield and an powerfull two-handed axe, as well as a few thousands GP after selling the unused gear). So my conclusion is that it's better to let him die. Or did I miss something ?

[Pyromus]

Save him, get the xp, then kill him for the most gain. That's the typical route to take with most people that have quests associated with them if you want the max rewards.

[Gullis]

XP is more valuable than gear, since you replace it every level or two.

If you give zero ♥♥♥♥♥ about rp. just kill him after the fight to get both.

[ej]

In general, I chose XP over gear but in this case the gear is really great. I'll admit I should have thought of saving him first and killing him afterwards but, for once, I'll live with the consequences of my decision to stick with the paladin dying in the fight. I'm tired of constantly going back to see if a second time I don't find better gear than the first time around (wich is often the case)... Tx for the advice though !