Renting to Roommates vs. Sublease

[Summer Noyes]

This is my first rental and I found a good tenant and went through the screening process with her. Almost completely done and she asks if a roommate is possible. It's fine with me as it is a 2b/2b. I am in the process of screening the roommate and while she is acceptable, I'd probably require a co-signer if she was on her own. It made me think if it would be better to allow my initial tenant to sublease the room to the second tenant vs. me have them as roommate. Advantages vs. disadvantage? I've already told them I would only accept one check a month, no separate payments. If I sublease, as I understand it, this leaves the initial occupant on the hook for everything the second occupant does. If I rent as roommates I can make them jointly responsible, so kind of the same thing? I'm trying to figure out the big differences and how I do the lease different as well. Can I say that she can only sublet to this person? Thanks in advance for any input.