Let me be clear: I’m firmly on Team Edward. But in New Moon, Bella finds herself growing closer to Jacob Black in the absence of her beloved Edward, and you just have to wonder… is Jacob better for Bella? With a nod to the eternal gorgeousness of Edward Cullen and his vampiric brethren, it’s time to take a look at the other side of Twilight’s love triangle: the werewolf as boyfriend material.

Because, let’s face it – having an undead lover is not the ideal situation, especially if he stays young and beautiful and sparkly forever while you get old and wrinkly.  Plus, you can’t really have romantic dinners together or raise a family (…or can you?) and there’s always that pesky problem of him wanting to slash open your neck and drink your blood. With werewolves, you’ve got none of those problems. Here are five reasons why Twilight’s wolves are hotter – literally and otherwise – than its vampires.

They’re Hot. Literally.
One of the characteristics of Twilight’s werewolves is that they all have unusually high temperatures; Jacob is said to run at 108.9 °F, whereas Edward and the vampires are ice-cold, and hard as marble to boot. Guess which one would be cozier to snuggle up to? And if you haven’t yet read through the third book, Eclipse, I have three words for you: Sleeping Bag Scene. Can’t wait to see that on film.

They Still Have a Pulse
One of the biggest advantages Jacob has over Edward is that he’s still, well, alive. While Edward will stay young forever, Jacob still ages like a normal human and can offer Bella a more balanced life of growing old, having babies, etc. Speaking of baby-making, getting it on with a werewolf makes a lot more sense than it does with a vampire, right? At least he still has blood pumping through his veins. Someone has to explain to me the science of where vampire babies come from.

They Walk Around Shirtless (Pretty Much all the Time)
Jacob and his fellow Quileute wolves Sam (Chaske Spencer), Paul (Alex Meraz), Embry (Kiowa Gordon), Jared (Bronson Pelletier) seem to show up half-naked pretty much throughout New Moon. Judging from the clips and trailers we’ve seen, none of them even own a shirt. Fine by me. After all, when the Wolf Pack guys phase into wolves, they shred all of their clothing in the process; when they phase back, they’re pretty much completely nude. Bonus: they all have tattoos, which boosts the bad boy factor.

They want to Protect You
Edward would do anything to protect his precious Bella. But in doing so, he has to fight his natural vampire tendencies. On the other hand, the wolves exist just to protect humans from the threat of vampires. They don’t have a choice, it’s in their blood. When your vampire boyfriend breaks up with you and leaves town, the Wolf Pack is there to save you from drowning, from hungry vampires, and from EVIL hungry vampires.

They’re Like Animals. Rawr!
Vampires like Edward love quietly from within their cold, hard sparkly shells, but wolves are like animals – free, passionate, and red-blooded. Even in human form, there’s something carnal and sensual about them – and yes, a little volatile. They’re hotheaded and violent in a sexy way, which could be a problem if they lost control around you. Then again, when Bella’s around, Jacob is more like a lovesick puppy than a scary, giant animal. And who doesn’t like puppies?

Alright, so there are a few drawbacks to dating a werewolf. They have quick tempers. (See Paul and the slap heard around the Twi-verse.) They can be dangerous to be around. (Just ask Emily Young.) With their "shared mind," the entire Wolf Pack knows what everyone else is thinking, so there goes any hope of privacy. And then there’s the whole imprinting business, which could mess up any relationship in the blink of an eye.

If you’re still on Team Edward, consider the following: MSN’s exclusive behind the scenes look at New Moon’s Wolf Pack. Do we see some vampire faithful jumping ship to Team Jacob?