@ Same Old Same Old
There's no muddying of the waters at all.
Face the facts! Whether FF has as many bugs is irrelevant, the reason IE is less secure is that it is far and away the most widely TARGETED browser.
Which is less secure, a car with both doors unlocked while sitting in an unlocked barn in your back yard, or a car with only one door unlocked sitting in a shopping center parking lot?
IE users have always been, and for the next few years of MS OS dominance will continue to be, far far less secure and we haven't even considered the extra configurability, limitations in features that add to security from FF add-ons.
If you're used to using IE or forced to, good luck to you because it and the associated Outhouse Express are both still the most prevalent way that malware spreads. It could be claimed that it's because more people use this software but once again we're back to that being the reason why these softwares' flaws are targeted, and actually, exploited.
Being open and quick with fixes instead of sitting on them for over a year like MS has done till something is propagating the web and forcing their hand is the right way to minimize vulnerability.
Ever heard of "Patch Tuesday"? Note to Microsoft: If I wanted you to sit on patches, I'd bloody well ask you to. Let's apply that to other areas of life. How about "Bathing Saturday" or "Eating Wednesday"?
I'll get my coat, I've a lot more to write on Text Tuesday.