A friend who knows or at least used to know bikes, the guy who gave me my Masi frame, was always a big Campy fan for the aesthetics. He never liked the Suntour V-series stuff because it didn't have the nice finish of Campy. I never noticed back when that stuff was new because I was too busy riding and loving the shifting, and never could see the derailleurs when I was riding anyway. Truth be told, back then I never had any Campy for comparison. I can see the difference now, of course. But I still have no worries about putting Vx derailleurs on a good bike. They just work too well.

The point is, my criteria would always place aesthetics last. Functionality and low weight with out. They usually go together in the nicer components.