And say I prefer 1.

Yes, you can win the hand in Scenario 2 much more easily. But in Situation 1, if you call, and you hit your set you can win a ton of $$$, as presumably the guy in Scenario 1 has a strong hand. i.e. he has AK, you have 44. Assuming he's not a shortstack, if you call, you're out say 100 (or whatever his raise is) when the flop comes out wrong. But u can take him down for a ton if you do hit.

Also, if the flop comes out rags, you can probably take the hand as well.

All about risk v. reward. Implied pot could be huge in Scenario 1.