There is no need for 'to' before the verb. 'I would rather die than...' 'I'd rather be hated for...'

All are correct. "To" is optional in every case. It is neither an error to use it, nor an error to omit it. I have a preference which sounds best to me, but will not tell you what it is because it would only be an opinion. Decide for yourself which way it sounds best to you and say it that way.

I need to clarify what I said before. Consider the two sentences #1 - I would be. #2 - I would to be. Both are correct but they do not have the same meaning. The other words in your sentences have nothing to do with the decision whether or not to say "to". #1 is by far the more common one, so I will focus only on the meaning of #2. In #2, "to be" is an infinitive behaving as an adverb modifying "would" and which serves to answer a question "why?" or "how?". For example, imagine this conversation, taken out of context: person A: Would you? person B: Yes, I would. person A: Why would you? person B: I would to be. (meaning I would in order to be)

The correct sentences are: "I would rather die than live this way." - Here, the verb "die" is used as an infinitive without "to." "I'd rather be hated for who I am, than be loved for who I'm not." - Here, the verb "be" is used as an infinitive without "to." In both sentences, "rather" is followed by a bare infinitive verb (without "to").

The bare infinitive ones.