They work for casual crafting yes, but so do unmelded Aesthetes just as well. If you're a serious crafter, you're going to be melding the Aesthete's to the specific rotation you want to use, which will mean it can have higher craftsmanship/control than the relic depending on what you want to do. It can't have higher craftsmanship AND control than the relic at the same time, this is true, but most of the time you will want to focus on one or the other on your mainhand according to the rotation you are using.

In the end, nothing is difficult enough to *need* this level of optimization of course (not even the grade 4 experts), so it doesn't matter. But the simple fact that the relic is not the best tool after going through all the motions of getting it is a pretty big let down. I don't need it to be level 90-tier, just give me 5 materia slots on it and I think myself and everyone else who was disappointed would be happy. I just wanted something to actually equip and use over my Aesthete's tools and all I got was something to stuff into my saddlebag and forget about. Not everyone will agree, and in fact, since most people are not serious crafters, most people will be happy with these. But most serious crafters expected more when these were announced and in the end they didn't live up to the hype.

I get that these things are great for people who hate melding or spending lots of gil on their tools, or who don't care about coming up with perfectly customized rotations. And I get that this is most people. It's just MY OPINION that these things didn't do it for me, personally.