Been visiting local day cares...

So... judge me if you want but I've always struggled with the concept of daycare. I know that I grew up privileged.. ironically, more privileged as a child than I am now. My mother only worked part time and was the director of a non-profit preschool in an extremely wealthy town that I attended. The preschool was for 3 hours 2 or 3 times a week and my mom watched me the rest of the time. I remember it vividly. Now that my daughter is almost 3, (and I'm working) I'm considering putting her in a day care twice a week so that she can socialize and get used to a school type setting. It seems like there's no part-time preschools out there anymore and they're all daycares centered around parents work schedules? (I get it, I need to work too but my how times change. How is it that we're living poorer lives than our parents?) Anyway, I visited two today. The first one I saw the teacher grab a toddler by her arm because she was trying to go through the door too early, and call me overly emotional but that struck me and I immediately imagined it being my little one. The second daycare felt more like a corporation than a childcare setting with a gazillion rules and too much structure expected for someone who is 2.5.... I guess I'm just overwhelmed and slightly frustrated. Can anyone share GOOD experiences they had sending their toddlers to daycare? I'm feeling a little defeated and hopeless about it all.