I often ride a CX bike with inline levers mainly for club rides, but I used to ride it on singletrack quite a bit as well.

I find much greater control using the brifter levers due to hands being further apart on bars.

The only time I use the inline levers is when I want to sit up to coast into a stop during a club ride and use the inline levers for a casual slow stop.

Interestingly when I rode single track (quite rough and hilly) I found I used the drops far more than I do on road (where I often use hoods, but never tops). That is because I found the most control and abilty to navigate obsticals in the drops, plus the most effective breaking. I could get back behind seat for steep downhills in drops just as easy as on the tops and had the advantage of more steering leverage.

I am sure though if I practiced I could get more comfortable on the tops, but my instinct when approachig difficult terrain is to move arms to hoods or drops.

Al