The main points of contact with the bike are your ass, your hands, and your feet. The first two relate directly to comfort (and to some degree, control), so, if you ask me, the answer is "yes". Find a bike with them installed and try them out - see if you like them.
Personally, once I tried them and felt the more even distribution of the weight on my hands (versus smaller pressure points), I could not use a standard "barrel" grip again. Cork Grips are the exception, and might be a less expensive option for you until you have some money for upgrades.

My $.02 is that the saddle and grips are two places NOT to cheap out.