As someone who picked the game up at a point that I was particularly bored with Go and have since lapsed, here are my additional thoughts:

PvP in Alive is infinitely better than Go, not because of any award-winning design choices in Alive, but just that Go probably has the most uninspired and uninteresting PvP I've ever experienced in a game.

I was able to play Alive on a 36 hour Amtrak train ride, which was really fun. Not possible with the speed limitations in Go.

Early game in Alive is way better than Go, but progress hits a wall in such a way where you can almost feel the hand reach out from the screen for money. Price points are also pretty bad in Alive, though Go has lately stooped to levels very similar and arguably worse.

Ultimately I'm back on Go mostly because of Home, meaning the value of Pokemon I catch extends beyond the boundaries of Pokemon Go and into other pokemon games. My time in Alive was fun while it lasted though.