There are many people on here that feed live prey exclusively and have never had a problem. I feed both F/T and live, depending on what the snake prefers. If you make sure that your animal is hungry and the rodents are calm, it won't take more than a few seconds for most snakes to eat once the live rodent is put in the cage.

The most important thing to do when feeding live (and I'm sure that others can elaborate better than I) is to be aware of your snake and what is happening. Most of the horror stories you hear are from people throwing a full grown rat into a snake cage and then leaving it alone for hours or days. though there can always be exceptions, snakes have evolved to eat live prey and if that is what you prefer to feed your animals then don't feel bad about doing it.

In the end it always comes back to what works best for you and your animals.