As big as the Red Dwarf is, Lister could have essentially hid from Rimmer if he wanted to. There had to be various living quarters spread about. The ship has thousands of floors as pointed out in Stasis Leak, as well as being miles in length.
Granted, he would have to convince Holly to not divulge his wherabouts to Rimmer.
well, he could have told holly just to switch rimmer off if he wanted , but he didnt want to.
Holly chose rimmer "to keep him sane"
I think it's canon that they went to the officers quarters in S3 because Holly was able to "disinfect" that area from the radiation? So maybe (s)he had initially done Lister's living quarters and nearby, cargo decks, and essential rooms, before moving on to other parts of the ship as (s)he had time?
shareAnd if Lister ran away from Rimmer, then what? He'd be alone in the universe except for Cat and Holly, and neither of them are exactly friend material, and well. Lister doesn't strike me as someone who'd thrive in a solitary life.
I think that if he couldn't choose his company, if he really did have to choose between being alone and being with someone he didn't like, he'd choose someone he didn't like. I think Lister would rather have someone to bitch at than be really alone.
Also, Lister tells Kryten that driving Rimmer mad is what keeps him going.
shareIn the early episodes, maybe the first couple of seasons, Rimmer and Lister were portrayed as absolutely hating each other but being trapped with each other.
After that, it was presented more as Rimmer being the annoying one, but the rest just kind of putting up with him. (Except maybe The Cat.)
In certain episodes, such as Rimmerworld, they do go through a lot effort and risk to save Rimmer. So there must've been at least some acceptance of him, even if not like.