I've never had a root canal myself, so I can't comment. I believe both of my parents have, and they said they were rather unpleasant experiences, but they are both in their mid 40s so maybe it's just because they're older, I dunno.
As for wisdom teeth, I haven't had mine out, they started to come in a few months ago so I probably should get them out soon, although I don't want to. My brother however has braces on that will be coming off in the next 6-9 months, and in order to get the braces on, he needed to get his wisdom teeth out. He had all 4 removed. He got an IV in his arm to put him out during the surgery. He doesn't like needles so he wasn't too happy about that, but he says he obviously doesn't remember anything from 2 seconds after the IV was in, to the time he woke up again. Unfortunately when I got home that day he was sitting in front of the coffee table watching TV and sobbing. I asked him what was wrong but then I realized what he went through. He was in some pain, but had pills to help ease it. He is only 15 years old now, and I believe was 14 at the time of the surgery, so he is considerably younger than most everyone here, so hopefully you can deal with the pain better.
Also he did swell up like a chipmunk for about 2-3 days, and my father and I took pictures. They are absolutely HILARIOUS.
Before I stop this ridiculously long post, I have to ask, how is everyone managing to get through root canal procedures with little or no pain? Moreover, how often does everyone brush? I was brought up as a kid to brush 3 times a day, morning noon and night, but I stopped that routine as a teen, eventually going from 3, to 2, and finally to 1. You might think it's gross or poor hygiene, but my teeth are pretty white and I'm proud of that. I also haven't visited the dentist in a long time. My mother tries to schedule appointments for me, but I always cancel or tell her not to. I brush every day in the morning, and I'm not one of those ######s who brushes and then goes and eats. I have breakfast and THEN brush my teeth. Of course, if for some reason I have eaten something weird or nasty and I have stank breath, then yes, I'll make an exception and brush them. I also drink lots of water which, with all the fluoride in it, has given me rather hard teeth over the years which has kept me from having cavaties, and thus, I feel I can avoid further dentist appointments.