Longevity provides the ability to assimilate more data, which would seem to be good for an intelligent creature.

Yeah longevity seems to be good so far as I can tell, from just about any perspective. That is, if life is good, then life plus longevity is also good.

I think it feels like progress to discover counterintuitive thoughts, and so thought experiments or explorations tend to to incentivize the seeking out of counterintuitive thoughts, which I think sometimes has the effect of endorsing strange conclusions, because their counterintuitive nature is what makes them seductive. I find the phrase "it's not a trick question" to be a healthy antidote, and I think when it comes to longevity it's in the "not a trick question" category, and, is fair to put in the good column, with usual caveats about all else being equal and except for unusual circumstances etc.