Workshop

a hypnotist does pretty much the same thing

Well, you know better, of course. But based on my experience, I can say that the town needs to be strong. In our games, the Mafia were much weaker and still almost always won. The townspeople play blindly, plus there are always undisciplined players among them who may not send in their night votes or just give up on the game. There are those who don't understand the game and act inappropriately.