Falling into a trap when trying to judge the difference between materials without simple but well-done tests is an age-old problem. Before scanners the common problem was trying to judge a negative without printing it first, which often led to an overly constrasty print where the photographer was scratching his head why it turned out so, when his negatives "looked beautiful".
Judging sharpness and grain without developing to the same CI has similar problems. Much of the difference in "look" people see between different materials often comes down simply to different amount of shadow detail and contrast.
An analogy is trying to decide which enlaring lens is sharper, without first making sure the enlarger is aligned.
It's best to accept that each and every film can be whatever we want it tonality-wise, a certain "look" will simply come more easily with one's usual technique and a given film, than treating that emulsion in a different way.
Even though I understand and respect the reasons why many choose not to print optically, since I print in the traditional way, my observations will be most valid for that process.
I'm not sure "straight scans" actually exist, even though I'm no expert at scanning and use the machine only to scan my prints, I believe even the straightest such process puts such a large distance between us and the negative that it can be difficult to predict from a scan how it will print. I guess the scanner has it's own curve, just as digital cameras do.
Bracketing exposure and developing for different times, then contact printing under the enlarger at say grade 2 tells everything one needs to know to get in the ballbark and doesn't take more than a couple of hours and cost more than a roll of film and few sheets of paper.
Judging a negative by simply looking at it works for those who have considerable experience with the given materials and don't wish to bring out as easily as possible the most the negative has to offer. Otherwise, it's best to realise, the eye sees the negative in a different way than does that particular scanner or for that matter, silver, platinum or salted paper.