Wasn't there a history of political violence and rabble rousing in Rome for a century or two before Rome? I thought the Imperium cleaned up a lot of the problems that Rome had for a while, at the cost of the democracy (which was really a plutocracy, until populism become more effective).
Yes there was and sure, in the short term the Imperium seemed a good deal - until the wrong person takes the position of emperor which inevitable lead to mass terror and destruction. Something which had happened a number of times in Rome's history.
I could be wrong, since it's been some years.