Just about anything is better than a straight pipe bar. I have a set of north roads on one bike, and drops set fairly high on the other. IMO that makes the drop position a lot more usable compared to having them set right down low. I do prefer my north road bars though. With those, you can adjust your grip from the end of the bar (upright position) through the 'hoods' of the brake levers (not entirely accurate but the best way to describe the position) to the front curves and the straight portion in the middle. The last one is actually pretty good for zooming down hills and/or getting out of the wind a bit.

One of these days I'm going to fit a steering wheel to a bike if I can get the brake lever mounting figured out.