Adoption dilemma - single boy cat or mother/daughter pair

[Doraemon]

Our elderly cat died last month and we have been to the cat rescue today. We were supposed to be looking at kittens (DH thought he wanted kittens) but have come back with a dilemma between a single boy cat, about 3 years old, super friendly, big black tom. Or a mother daughter pair, mother under 2 years old, daughter 6-8 months, very very pretty gingery tabby and white mix. Mother was very active and curious, daughter stayed in her basket but happy to be stroked.

We only ever had one cat before who was bonkers, and then latterly mainly just slept and scratched the door frames to pieces, so I think having a young cat(s) will be quite a change whichever we get.
Is 2 a good idea? Or will mother/daughter pair mean they will fight when the kitten is older?
If we don't take the boy cat will he be stuck in rescue for ages because he's not small and pretty? Would he get bored and lonely by himself during the day if he is a very friendly cat (we are all out 8 til 3.30 4 days a week although I am sometimes home at lunch time)?
WWYD? DC are 2, 7 and 9 - so whatever cat(s) we get needs to tolerate the toddler running round the house shouting 'CAT! ears! eyes! tail! CAT!'

There is no reason to think that a mother and daughter will fight when they get older. They generally continue to get along - some very closely, some more independently - but there is almost never any problem.

And some cats like company and some aren't bothered. If the boycat has access to the outside then he would be perfectly happy. And even if he doesn't, then I'm sure there will be people around often enough to keep him happy.

I think the most important consideration here is which of them would tolerate young children better (you will have to supervise contact between them regardless). It sounds as though the boycat maybe a bit more resilient and able to cope with young children, but it's really hard to tell.

It's impossible to say which of them would be the hardest to home. It really depends on the sort of homes that become available. I wouldn't let that sway your decision one way or the other.