The brazed-on centerpulls work excellent when everything is well adjusted. I'm able to modulate well, skid the rear wheel and throw myself over the bars (which fortunately hasn't happened yet with this bike!). I actually prefer them to the cheap cable actuated disc brakes I had briefly on a 29er MTB. I'd say I prefer them to some really old-school cantilevers that I have on an old MTB. There are many fewer degrees of freedom in the adjustment unless you try to build your own straddle cable. I think the modulation is better than what I experienced with modern V-brakes.
They also look super slick since there is no mounting plate. On my 1977 example, the fork crown is drilled and tapped on the rear for a fender and a really old-school rear-mounting Jim Blackburn rack, but not drilled all the way through. This leaves the front of the fork crown a bit more on display, which I really like.