A good sight better, yeah. I know which I'd rather be hit by. The tiki torches were for the Parties Unlimited branded mob of angry villagers the night before, not the Saturday protest/counterprotest.
I watched the "Antifa throws urine at Lauren Southern" video and it didn't actually show anything, that I could see. That said, if they did, that's obviously a ridiculous thing to do.
It's historically what left wing demonstrators do. It was a common thing at least as far back as the '68 convention riots.