S&S offers these because some large frame bikes have to have the crank removed to fit in the travel case when you disassemble them. The auto extractors allow you to do this with only an allan wrench.
Shimano fits standard self extracting bolts on their Ultegra and Dura Ace Octalink cranks and, in my experience, they work well. However, Octalinks require careful alignment when installing the crank arms so I always remove the outer ring (with a pin spanner) so I can see the inside of the crank/spindle interface during reassembly.