I have disc brakes and am quite fond of them. For a heavier rider who rides in the rain and mud and snow and ectoplasmic semen of mother nature they come in pretty handy. I don't mind the weight and uglyness factor of them because... well... because I weigh alot and I don't think their ugliness distracts from the fact that there is a fat man on the bicycle they are attached to. Having said that, my current project bike is not going to have disc brakes, I'm sure the canti brakes will work just fine with the right pads.
Oh, and as for modulation and faceplants: they have excellant modulation, better than the rim brakes I have ridden in the past, and I have never been able to endo on this bike, maybe it's my weight, but I can't get the back wheel off the gra\ound unless I am leaning so far forward my package is resting on the handlebar.