..but some are better than others, and having that personality trait isn't necessarily a choice

Better in terms of less immediately destructive, sure. But I've gone to more funerals from deaths of adrenaline junkies than drug ones. The holes they leave when they're gone are the same.

The number of funerals you have attended could be a poor proxy for the number of lives lost. Drug junkies tend to have fewer friends and be less vocal about their addictions because society, culture and laws.

Quite possible. I am not claiming ultimate truth.

But in my 43+ years of living, I've known enough of all of the above to come to think that the specific what of addiction matters less than the core pathology itself. The patterns are too similar across the board.

I would think the holes are even bigger: their feats are often inspirational, whereas junkies are often parasitic.

There's nothing inspirational about wondering if your friend is going to survive yet another dangerous stunt, just because they can't feel alive without risk. It's a shit situation for all involved.