I have the best of both worlds. My cat isn't an attention-whore, like every dog ever, so I don't have to say "WHO'S THE GREAT PUPPY IN THE WORLD? YOU ARE MR. FLUFFLES!" and pet her all the damn time. When I take her upstate, I let her roam around my land and she behaves like a trained dog. She'll walk by my side, and when she veers off and I call for her, she'll run over to me. She's my little bodyguard. She doesn't fair too well against cougars and bears though, but neither do dogs, really.
I remember once I was playing with a neighbor's dog (a german shepherd), and I was pretending to be wounded, and my cat ran 4 billion miles an hour and knocked the dog over and started mauling it. The dog would have probably killed it if it knew what was going on...but it didn't. Because dogs are stupid and are nothing compared to the greatest predator on the planet. But it just goes to show how loyal a cat can be if you raise it and treat it correctly.