I would try both. A group of 4-6 giant danios and either a single male or female 3 spot gourami or a group of 3 female gouramis or 3 females plus a male gourami.
I'm not really an advocate of just a pair of CA cichlids with out incorporating a divider. In about 4 decades of keeping the convict cichlid I don't recall ever losing a female to male aggression. In community tanks, with lots going on, male and female co-exist well enough. But I never kept a pair by their lonesome that did not have to be divided. In such circumstances, with nothing else to focus on but themselves, it usually just a short period of time before the male ends up picking on the female. The very same pair that gets along fabulously in the community tank, ends up needing a divider in matter of a few months, when placed in a tank with out tank mates. A lot easier to house convict male with female then some of the big CA, but it is still the same principle. If you set up a tank with just one male and one female CA, then you should plan to incorporate a divider. Either a full divider that can be pulled out from time to time or a divider with a hole of a smaller size that allows only the female to escape to the other side.