For what it's worth, my take on this is that the groove templates can be quite fun if you are just 'doodling' with ideas and looking for some external stimulus to spring-board from.

I quite like writing a basic rhythm pattern then applying various templates to it just for fun. Sometimes the strange accents it thourhg up can take you in new directions to jam/write over.

For me that's all it's useful for. As you say, if I have a specific pattern in my head that I want to use, I don't need a template to get it down. But that bit of unpredictable inspiration can sometimes be fun. (Then again, sometimes it can be poitnless rubbish. It does tend to fall under the Japanses category of "we can do this, therefore we will do it"!)

All the best,

Martin