Apollo as a flight system never had a launch abort, although it came very close to one (Apollo 12, struck by lightning on launch, was seconds away from an abort). If they had to use the Launch Escape Tower on Apollo, there was only a 50-50 chance of surviving such an abort.
Yes they can be compared and that is the point. People compare the jet test-pilots of the 1950's to the shuttle crews. THAT is an inappropriate comparison.
As you say, the Shuttle is an operational system. The proper comparison is to airliners, or to look to more hazardous OPERATIONAL transport forms -- to ice road truckers, or early airline travel of the 1930's or the 1920's era air mail flights.
I also have compared the Shuttle record of catastrophic failure -- total failure, loss of lives -- to an endeavors which should be far more risky than experimental modes of travel. To war. As a mode of operational travel the Shuttle is at least 20 times more total, deadly failure prone than being an American soldier on the ground in Iraq during the war, during the recent surge period.
And the experimental travel mode of Apollo had a ZERO PERCENT catastrophic failure rate. They got to the moon and back, again and again. There would have been more Apollo but the Shuttle Socialists killed it.