Chabad or traditional

peace,
I'm not a troll, I'm genuinely interested and trying to understand –
Is it better, from a Torah/halachic/ideological perspective, to be a Chabad follower all your life with all that it implies, or to be traditional?
That is, is performing the mitzvot but with the belief that the Rebbe is the Messiah, the belief that one receives answers from the Rebbe in the holy writings (and also performing this practice), belonging to this group, and all the other things preferable / greater / more equal / better halakhically / ideologically than being a traditionalist who, while not performing the mitzvot according to the exact halakhic law, also does not believe in things that are actually idolatry?
Maybe this could be some kind of parable –
Is it better to be a fitness enthusiast, someone who does push-ups and runs here and there, etc., or to be a person who maintains "real" fitness (3 times a week, organized muscle and heart training) but who, at the same time, also does a type of training that is known to cause a certain type of disability (a disability such as the inability to move the head to the sides freely).
Thank you very much.