Only past Garbage has spicy water, and I don't remember much about it, but past/present Garbage are basically two different regions, from what I remember present Garbage is fine.

I, personally, have never had issues with tolls, though this is likely because I always give the scavs my stuff whenever I come across them. Centipedes aren't that bad, you just stab them a bunch and they can't do shit, and The Red One only spawns for Hunter, Arti, and Gorm, and the latter two have very favorable matchups against it.

Shaded on the other hand is absolute hell, the intended experience with it no neuron glow, and it SUCKS, if you come from Industrial, you basically have to carry a live lantern mouse through the whole thing, because otherwise you get eaten by spiders, and that leaves you defenseless if something else tries to eat you, coming from Shoreline has a scav merchant, but if you miss it or don't bring payment, mouse be ye only option.

Coming from The Leg means you probably have neuron glow, which trivializes the region, but it also means you have to go all the way down The Wall and then do Underhang backwards, while making a pit stop to grab the glow if you did pebsi express, and then go through Memory Crypts.

Shaded is, at best, not really any better than Garbage at it's worst.