C-Section after third degree tears

When my son was born (vaginal delivery) I ended up with third degree tears in every direction and had to have two blood transfusions. I felt like I had been hit by a truck and the recovery took several weeks. My short term disability actually got extended from six weeks to eight weeks because I wasn't healed enough at my six week check up to do the exam. My midwife said, knowing what we know now, I probably would have been better off with a C-Section and no one would blame me if next time I opted to go the C-Section route.

Now I'm pregnant again and terrified of going through birth again. For those who have had C-Sections, how bad is the recovery? Has anyone had both a C-Section and severe tearing? Which was worse?