I've used both and from my experience HostGator is much better. And all their awards plus that they are a "green" hosting company just makes it better. Been using them for 2 years now and haven't had any issues ever.
HostGator is certainly a much larger company that will be able to offer more reliable support to you. However, this may not justify the additional cost involved if you know what you are doing.
I would recommend that you search for customer reviews of both companies and compare them. This should help you.
I can say that the both have good reputation in the hosting services market.
It will be a good idea to contact them both, tell your specific requirements, see what they can offer you and choose the best.
I don't think you could compare them. Hostgator is the leader with perfect support. I never heard Hawk one.
Go for hostgator, don't look here and there.
Hawkhost has a pretty good reputation over at webhostingtalk.com. Personally though, I've been using Hostgator shared hosting for a long time now (8 years I think) and I've always been satisfied with them.