I have some bad pavement on my commute, too -- and in the dark, the rain, and the rainy dark it can be hard to pick a smooth path through the streets. I want to keep my head up, looking at cars, not down looking at the pavement.

For that reason, I've always been more comfortable commuting on bikes with fatter tires. My first commuter bike had 23c tires, and I quickly changed that for a Trek 520 touring bike with 32c tires. I currently commute on a custom-made commuter bike with 32c tires. I feel like I can roll over anything with those fat tires, which allows me to keep my head up when I'm in traffic.