The midfield entry to downwind from the upwind side puts most of the worry in front of me with my wings level. Traffic on the 45 and the down wind are moving across my field of view, So I'm likely to pick them out quicker, rather than looking for them in the ground clutter as I pass overhead and descend prior to the teardrop. Also, the teardrop to the 45 has me blocking my view of the 45, and the base to downwind, at least part of the time.
Some times the pattern is just to busy for this. So, I don't push the issue. But, at those quiet fields I prefer this way of entering from the upwind side.