Moving from boutique IB to PE? Need advice - straightforward on paper but gets complex on details

TLDR:

Underpaid overworked in MM IBD and deal flow drying up. No luck in lateralling to better IB shops that would have bigger pay bump + bonuses. Move to PE on the cards, but pay bump and potential bonus is modest and role may be a bit specific. A bit nervous of future career prospects of potentially doing this switch - need advice to help me decide.

A bit of context:

I'm based in Australia, started my career in Big 4 and three years later after hustling and grinding through multiple recruitment processes (including both MM and BB firms), I landed at a MMIB shop that I thought was quite legit as an analyst. The firm is quite small (less than 10 people including the MDs).

Fast forward almost two years and it's been kind of a letdown. We didn't close any deals, be it due to the market or whatever reason. Base pay is under market (roughly 30-40% under market IBD base where I am) but the MDs at the time say they're quite generous with bonuses. 80-100 hour weeks were common before the bonus discussions, but then when the time came, bonus was literally zero and there's also no base salary increase either, for all analysts. No promotions or anything. On top of that I found out I am underpaid compared to my colleagues who do the exact same work with the same rank, experience, and skillset by about 20-30% - so they're being paid just under but close to market IB base pay.

Understandable given the lack of deals being closed, but I was expecting at least a 10-30% bonus to recognise the hours we put in, or at least a base pay bump to match my colleagues.

Since that chat I've been job hunting for IB roles for the past 6-8 months. There aren't many at the moment given market conditions right now and I've been unsuccessful so far - a lot went to the last round of interviews and they decided that other candidates were better.

Deal flow also dried up so the upcoming bonus chat isn't going to be super positive either.

What I need advice for:

I'm in the final stages of a process with a PE firm in a sector that I really like. Quite modest AUM in the $5-10bn range, so not a mega fund by any means. Base pay is hinted at a modest 30% jump from my current pay, and potential cash bonuses hinted at around 20% of base. The position I'm applying for is Analyst/Associate level. Unclear at the moment where they'll place me for title if I get an offer but given my years of experience I'm trying to push for the Associate title. Safe to say at that level, carry is probably limited to none. The particular role is also less exposed to execution and is more geared towards the financial modelling side of things.

I'm a bit nervous about this because while PE has been touted as the dream IB exit opportunity, the pay isn't fantastic compared to sticking with IB, where at other firms that pay close to market I'll be getting a 50%+ base pay bump and 80-100% bonuses with solid deal flow. Also nervous about the role being less involved in execution.

Let's say turns out, it's not for me, is there a path back to IB? Because despite the hours, I've grown comfortable in the type of work and it's actually quite easy to do - just voluminous. What should I do for this PE opportunity to set a good foundation in case I want to exit later on? Hopefully PE lives up to the hype I'm seeing in this forum. If I do end up liking it, how does progression usually work in PE, especially in a sector specific CMM/UMM space? Is it as linear and defined as in IB? What about future comp? Or should I just stick it out in my current shop and try again for IB laterals next year when the market (hopefully) gets better?

WLB is definitely a point. After getting zero bonus I've reduced my hours by being a bit tactical with my work deliverables, not going the extra mile anymore but I'm still averaging 60 hour weeks at the office everyday, with practically no work perks. The PE firm said they have WLB and WFH, not to mention quite a lot of perks on top.

Thoughts?