i happen to watch a video of a restoration of a vintage vice of this nature so these vices have been around for some time. i personally have never used one but it was enough to catch my interest to see how they work. this is only the first video i could find of this style of vise and have seen them in a size comparable to a typical 6" vise. typically i resort to milling a set of soft jaws for irregular work holding in a production type situation but everything is not always grouped into the same type of work situation.
i don't think there is a right or wrong answer when it comes to work holding solutions honestly. it boils down to the individual and individual needs of the job at hand. basically the job has to justify the extra cost of any special work holding solution and there are many options for work holing solutions out there.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tvnizh0XPOA