Originally Posted by wassie

You are right in your assessment of two groups and hence it remains your decision to choose what you want to do.. Let me still elaborate further to clarify your concerns.
In MLCG, right from day 1 You get a car and a house with certain servants as well. Same goes for PAS as well, but still there are stations in PAS, where you couldn't expect to get an accommodation in grade 17, such as provincial capitals.
But the thing is, in MLCG you cannot expect to get beyond grade 21, no matter how competent or able you are, because there is only one DG of MLCG, which happens to be a Major General from the Military. On the contrary, your chances of making it to grade 22 in PAS are pretty probable if you are able and competent. Similarly, in MLCG you would be spending your entire career in one department, while in PAS, your horizontal mobility is matchless. You could go to any department with great ease. Similarly, the decision making authority that you have in PAS is something you would crave for in MLCG.
N Yes, in MLCG you get to spend time with your family and the job is not as demanding as that of a PAS officers. There also happens to be negligible political interference. So,lik I said, The Decision is YOURS..