In my honest opinion, both from a writing/lore/gameplay PoV, HW fell completely flat at every turn. Sure, it was trying to tell an epic story, but... about who? Very few, if any, characters in HW were memorable beyond Alisaie and maybe the elf ruler bloke, but ultimately HW felt incredibly hollow, trying to tell an epic tale without any characters that really fit the bill of what such a story needs to really sell it.

Conversely, SB was infinitely more human. Characters were better written, the dungeons and bosses were both memorable and unique, the supporting cast was infinitely stronger, and it felt like a much better more enjoyable experience. To me.

As for deaths... I can't honestly name any deaths that happened in HW either. Did we ever actually lose anyone important? I'm pretty sure we didn't.