Hi,
I am fully aligned, Sasha: I nearly always use the emulator manually, to get the closest flavor of the original device. A must!

Maybe a couple of exceptions:

- some otherwise hard to use devices (such as Svetlana Elektronika IM01T, Energopribor Debut-M - at least I use the English layout). Even sometimes the Novag MK1 which is a pain in the neck to play with. But I manned the real device during my 64-cup...

- when I use my Citrine as an Arena connected board, I enjoy playing MessChess engines on a wooden board

- and maybe the most important use to my humble opinion: running tests. It is such a time saving to copy/paste a FEN or a PGN into the GUI and run the MessChess engine accelerated; this enables much more tests to be performed.

By the way, I use most if not all external layouts as you do; maybe useful reminding this post from Luis, for those who didn't spot it. Downloading the artwork package is really worth the effort. Then just pick and choose the ones you are eventually missing, and set the relevant video option you like best.

Warm regards,
Eric