diff --git a/src/Analyser/ExprHandler/ArrayDimFetchHandler.php b/src/Analyser/ExprHandler/ArrayDimFetchHandler.php
index 1c389f9fb9a..a6c2ba01744 100644
--- a/src/Analyser/ExprHandler/ArrayDimFetchHandler.php
+++ b/src/Analyser/ExprHandler/ArrayDimFetchHandler.php
@@ -47,6 +47,13 @@ public function resolveType(MutatingScope $scope, Expr $expr): Type
 		}
 
 		$offsetAccessibleType = $scope->getType($expr->var);
+		if ($offsetAccessibleType instanceof NeverType) {
+			// never is a subtype of everything (including ArrayAccess), so without
+			// this short-circuit the fetch would be resolved through offsetGet() and
+			// produce an *ERROR* type instead of the expected never.
+			return $offsetAccessibleType;
+		}
+
 		if (
 			!$offsetAccessibleType->isArray()->yes()
 			&& (new ObjectType(ArrayAccess::class))->isSuperTypeOf($offsetAccessibleType)->yes()
diff --git a/src/Reflection/InitializerExprTypeResolver.php b/src/Reflection/InitializerExprTypeResolver.php
index 5599286bb8a..0ffd17c9ee8 100644
--- a/src/Reflection/InitializerExprTypeResolver.php
+++ b/src/Reflection/InitializerExprTypeResolver.php
@@ -1947,7 +1947,10 @@ private function optimizeScalarType(Type $type): Type
 	public function resolveIdenticalType(Type $leftType, Type $rightType): TypeResult
 	{
 		if ($leftType instanceof NeverType || $rightType instanceof NeverType) {
-			return new TypeResult(new ConstantBooleanType(false), []);
+			// A never-typed operand has no value to compare, so the result is
+			// undecided. This mirrors how never behaves as a boolean condition and
+			// keeps always-true/false rules from piling onto already-unreachable code.
+			return new TypeResult(new BooleanType(), []);
 		}
 
 		if ($leftType instanceof ConstantScalarType && $rightType instanceof ConstantScalarType) {
diff --git a/tests/PHPStan/Analyser/data/bug-9307.php b/tests/PHPStan/Analyser/data/bug-9307.php
index 69158aa7591..0b6ce3becc5 100644
--- a/tests/PHPStan/Analyser/data/bug-9307.php
+++ b/tests/PHPStan/Analyser/data/bug-9307.php
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ public function test(): void
 			}
 		}
 
-		assertType('array<*ERROR*>', $objects); // could be array<int, Bug9307\Item>
+		assertType('array<int, Bug9307\Item>', $objects);
 
 		$this->acceptObjects($objects);
 	}
diff --git a/tests/PHPStan/Analyser/nsrt/bug-14281.php b/tests/PHPStan/Analyser/nsrt/bug-14281.php
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..4040b51a55a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/PHPStan/Analyser/nsrt/bug-14281.php
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+<?php declare(strict_types = 1);
+
+namespace Bug14281;
+
+use function PHPStan\Testing\assertType;
+
+function test(): void
+{
+	$array = [
+		null,
+		0,
+		'some-string',
+		new \stdClass(),
+		['some' => 'value'],
+	];
+
+	assert($array[0] === null);
+	assertType("array{null, 0, 'some-string', stdClass, array{some: 'value'}}", $array);
+
+	// $array[1] is 0, so this assertion can never hold and collapses the array
+	assert($array[1] === null);
+	assertType('*NEVER*', $array);
+
+	// offset access on a never array must stay never instead of becoming *ERROR*
+	assertType('*NEVER*', $array[2]);
+	assert($array[2] === null);
+	assertType('*NEVER*', $array);
+}
+
+function neverVariable(int $i): void
+{
+	if ($i !== $i) {
+		assertType('*NEVER*', $i);
+		assertType('bool', $i === null);
+		assertType('bool', $i !== null);
+	}
+}
diff --git a/tests/PHPStan/Rules/Comparison/StrictComparisonOfDifferentTypesRuleTest.php b/tests/PHPStan/Rules/Comparison/StrictComparisonOfDifferentTypesRuleTest.php
index 5122f366f8a..d0123938388 100644
--- a/tests/PHPStan/Rules/Comparison/StrictComparisonOfDifferentTypesRuleTest.php
+++ b/tests/PHPStan/Rules/Comparison/StrictComparisonOfDifferentTypesRuleTest.php
@@ -686,10 +686,6 @@ public static function dataLastMatchArm(): iterable
 				36,
 				'Remove remaining cases below this one and this error will disappear too.',
 			],
-			[
-				"Strict comparison using === between *NEVER* and 'ccc' will always evaluate to false.",
-				38,
-			],
 			[
 				"Strict comparison using === between 'bbb' and 'bbb' will always evaluate to true.",
 				46,
@@ -719,10 +715,6 @@ public static function dataLastMatchArm(): iterable
 				"Strict comparison using === between 'bbb' and 'bbb' will always evaluate to true.",
 				36,
 			],
-			[
-				"Strict comparison using === between *NEVER* and 'ccc' will always evaluate to false.",
-				38,
-			],
 			[
 				"Strict comparison using === between 'bbb' and 'bbb' will always evaluate to true.",
 				46,
@@ -1244,4 +1236,22 @@ public function testBug14791(): void
 		$this->analyse([__DIR__ . '/../../Analyser/nsrt/bug-14791.php'], []);
 	}
 
+	public function testBug14281(): void
+	{
+		$this->analyse([__DIR__ . '/data/bug-14281.php'], [
+			[
+				'Strict comparison using === between null and null will always evaluate to true.',
+				15,
+			],
+			[
+				'Strict comparison using === between 0 and null will always evaluate to false.',
+				16,
+			],
+			[
+				'Strict comparison using !== between int and int will always evaluate to false.',
+				25,
+			],
+		]);
+	}
+
 }
diff --git a/tests/PHPStan/Rules/Comparison/data/bug-14281.php b/tests/PHPStan/Rules/Comparison/data/bug-14281.php
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..f45ca373f88
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/PHPStan/Rules/Comparison/data/bug-14281.php
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+<?php declare(strict_types = 1);
+
+namespace Bug14281Rule;
+
+function test(): void
+{
+	$array = [
+		null,
+		0,
+		'some-string',
+		new \stdClass(),
+		['some' => 'value'],
+	];
+
+	assert($array[0] === null);
+	assert($array[1] === null);
+	// everything below is unreachable, the comparisons must not be reported
+	assert($array[2] === null);
+	assert($array[3] === null);
+	assert($array[4] === null);
+}
+
+function neverOperand(int $i): void
+{
+	if ($i !== $i) {
+		// $i is never here
+		$a = ($i === null);
+		$b = ($i !== null);
+	}
+}