Anyone care to guess what would happen to 9E pilots (and Mesaba, Comair, etc. for that matter) if a NWA Delta merger/buyout went through?

From an optimistic standpoint, I'd think that that flying still needs to be done regardless of whether those 200s have NWA or Delta colors on the side...however, I'm just wondering strategically where it'd be safest right now--Comair, Mesaba, 9E, ASA, etc.??? Who wins, who loses...or would it be a draw??? Or bad for everyone???