Most of my Main Scenario roulette runs do not have a single person. Ironically enough, we kind of enjoyed some chats about patches, story, gameplay, etc., during the cutscenes. In some other instances, I also check on my FC chat, linkshells, Discord chat rooms, and other FFXIV forums.

As far as time spent on runs go, Castrum Meridianum isn't a problem in terms of time spent. It's still less than 30 minutes on average with a good group (faster than the most of my average Skalla runs.) Praetorium can be too long for repeated plays though.

YMMV on the return of poetic tomes and exp earned. The exp is satisfactory for me and I use poetic tomes for Shire Accessories to turn in to GC. I can get ventures, GC mats, food (for extra EXP and secondary stats), and various other items without breaking the bank (in this case, gil.)