I would choose Zig because Zig has a much more approachable learning curve and Zig code is eminently legible compared to Rust code and it's overly complex type system.
Because Garbage Collection is basically a garbage feature that should be, at the very least, optional.
It is optional in nim
Yeah, when people hear GC, they often get oddly dismissive. However, various languages have optional memory management, so have to look at the situation carefully.