I think you need to consider your framing. "It's only bad if there is a down round" - actually, it's good only if they go from giving you options to cashing out

I think you need to consider your framing. "It's only bad if there is a down round" - actually, it's good only if they go from giving you options to cashing out without a single bump in the road. The likelihood of all those bad things happening - down rounds, bad exit, no exit, folding completely, etc. those are the most likely thing to happen. And if you're in the company earlier they're way more likely than anything else.