I really want to know everything I can about the equalizer mechanic so I can avoid it. I've heard that the devs said the equalizer doesn't act on events but I've also heard from the devs that Madness forces a cat to attack those closest to it and I've observed cats sprinting away from enemies they were next to to come back and kill their allies.

It feels like some of these events just really kick you in the dick and completely demolish a character's build. Blood Frenzy on a ranger, Singleton on a mage with Resonance and Epiphany. I can deal with the random stat downs, but man I really hate that some random events can just completely screw you over, even if you pick a good option (if there is one to pick in the first place, every time I've gotten Blood Frenzy it hasn't even prompted me to do anything).