I agree somewhat with greywings, command time is valuable, but I will throw in my two cents worth into this discussion which is intersting to me because I was faced with this same choice about 18 years ago and I sometimes wonder to this day, did I make the right choice?
I was similarly faced with the left seat Metro/right seat Dash 8 and decided to take the Metro left seat. A few months later, the Dash 8 guys were on the street, laid off, and I sighed in relief thinking I'd dodged a bullet, till shortly thereafter, the Metro job died too. The Dash 8 guys that were laid off quickly found work with the Air Canada connector airlines of the day. I had a tougher time finding work. The Dash 8 types over the years ended up doing better than me, I think, and progerssed to the left seat on the 8 and eventuallly right then left seat at charter airlines at about a 3-5 year advantage to me.
So, looking back, yes, command time is valuable and may impress a recruiter, but remember what the goal is here...If you are flying a Metro as a captain, the next step up would be the right seat of a Dash 8-type aircraft (with another company), unless your current (Metro) operator has large turboprops and streams pilots from left seat to left seat. The right seat on the RJ Type is where you'd be headed anyway, in most cases, even after a thousand hours of Metro command,...so the question is, why not take the right seat on a larger type when it's offered and wait out the seniority and slide in the left seat of the larger aircraft that way?
In the end, taking the right seat on the RJ type wll result in a net quicker transition to the left seat of that RJ than taking a detour into the left seat of the Metro. This is only because, to a large extent, our progression is governed by seniority in this industry and direct entry left seat opportunities are rare.
My two cents: take the RJ right seat and wait. This from a guy that's always chased the left seat and is now older and top heavy with command time and responsibilies (family/mortgage, etc.) and so unwilling/unable to start anew in the right seat of ANY operator here in Canada due to poor pay and progression prospects at this mid-to-late stage in his career. My prospects are now narrower in the sense that the only jobs I can take involve left-seat flying overseas (which I've been doing).
As for what company will make it or not through the recession, your crystal ball is as lousy as anyone else's. The bottom line is: seniority is the driver in our field, not necessarily experience and you need to consult that gut-feeling Gyro within you with regard to which operator might last the next 5 years.
My own Gyro in that area has been toppled too many times over the years to know which way is up anymore, so maybe I'm the last guy you should take advice from, but if I had a Way-Back Machine, I think I'd now take that right seat Dash 8 job.