more vital than anything

No.

I would tend to go with the first option.

'else' is a bit redundant, really.

I don't fully agree with milord; I think it depends a lot on the context.

I just looked at anything meaning just that. Anything.

Else just means something other than drinking.

Something other than drinking will be included in anything, surely.

I don't fully disagree either. I think it depends a lot on the context.

Could you think of a situation/situations where the use or non-use of 'else' is wrong?

I think "wrong" is too strong. It depends on the style and context of what you are trying to convey.

I like barbecues better than anything.
I'd be happy never to eat anything else.

Thank you. The thing that prompted me to think that 'else' is not omissible is that 'anything' includes 'drinking', which will make the sentence illogical, just as

-Judy is taller than any woman in the world.

is wrong and it should be

--Judy is taller than any other woman in the world.

Not sure this is a good example. The second sentence isn't a comparative, but the OP sentences are.

Anyhoo, as for the sentences in the OP, I can imagine that someone might add the 'else' either out of habit or for added emphasis.

That said, conciseness is a virtue in writing, so I'd leave it out of the written form. Either way, it's not ungrammatical.

I'm terribly sorry. It was the best I could do on the spur of the moment.



I think we agree about that.

I'm not afraid of anything. Except maybe spiders. But apart from spiders, I'm definitely not afraid of anything else.