I will claim to be a mechanic and am both certified and certifiable.

My position on the modulators on linear pull brakes is that they are one of the worst ideas ever as they impair brake function and prevent people from learning how to brake properly... they seem to be equipped on hybrids more than anything else and I have removed them on a good number of bicycles with great responses from customers on how well this improved their braking.

Other people like them... these are folks that wear out their rear brakes because they do not know how to use their brakes effectively or know that the front brake should be primary.

Consider that my kids learned to ride without brake dampers and have never gone otb under the hardest braking efforts because we practice riding skills.