Yes, everything I have seen says that knees are tougher (more painful) than hips although I would think hips are no picnic either. I have tried exercises on my glutes as they say strengthening the glutes can fix knee pain. It does temporarily and immediately but it doesn't last long. I am at the point where I have trouble just walking down my driveway to get my mail, so my time is here for surgery. I am really leaning toward the kinematically aligned TKR. Here's what AI has to say about it.

"Kinematically aligned total knee replacement is a surgical technique that aims to restore a patient's natural knee alignment and biomechanics by using pre-arthritic kinematic axes. This method focuses on preserving ligaments and achieving a balanced joint without altering the patient's normal anatomy significantly"