An antivirus program wouldn't detect a PuP as you have agreed to download it, either by failing to uncheck a box during the installation of a program or something that is hidden in the EULA.
Download.com are notorious for this because many of us don't bother reading the EULA and so they get away with installing crap onto your computer - so avoid their download sites as well as for CNET and Softpedia.
A decent AV program will however, alert you if a site is unsafe to start with but could also be a false positive.
Unchecky is a free program that will alert you to any unwanted bundled programs during the install phase but that doesn't mean you shouldn't remain vigilant also.
http://unchecky.com/Using ESET to clean out PuPs is a bit like using a bull mel hammer to crack a walnut, although an occasional scan with it can be prudent but it's generally just used when an infection is suspected.
An additional tool to AdwCleaner and Junkware Removal Tool that I've recently come across is the Avast Browser Cleanup Tool.
https://www.avast.com/browser-cleanupI used this when HitmanPro.Alert - a browser guard kept telling me that IE was compromised but didn't tell me what with and was pushing for me to run a scan with HitmanPro which is a paid for program.
ADW and JRT came up clean but Avast did find something which then stopped the alerts about the browser.
The current version of HitmanPro.Alert is v.3.0 but I found that was putting a yellow alert against the Teredo Tunnelling adapter in Device Manager/View/Show hidden adapters/Network adapters so I reverted to v2.0 - but that is no longer available.
HitmanPro.Alert also includes Crypto Guard, but if you decide to install it then check Device Manager.
HP.Alert used to be a free program but looks like they are charging for it now so I won't include its link.
The Avast clean up tool remains active unless you opt out of that so that may be sufficient.