I've been backpacking for years and have found the most helpful attribute of a free-standing tent is the ability to raise it above your head upside down to shake all the dirt out of it. Otherwise, it's not any better than a non free-standing tent, IMHO.
Since I saw somebody's free-standing tent tumbling down the side of Mt. Rainier full of their sleeping bags & equipment, I always stake down my tents, free-standing or not. And as I said in a previous post, you still need to stake down the rainfly on a free-standing tent.