Well that depends on what you want to really, doesn’t it? It require much imagination to see that there’s a world of possibility outside of basic mixing duties.
There are many problems with using the Group tracks workaround, though…
01) Can’t reorder insert plugins between channels from the inspector
02) Can’t reorder insert plugins between channels from the channel edit window
03) Can’t reorder insert plugins between channels -at all- without wiping out all automation data
04) Can’t even see the full insert chain from the inspector
05) Can’t even see the full insert chain from the channel edit window
06) Sends routing from parent channel can’t easily be moved to final Group in the chain
07) Sends automation can’t easily be moved between channels
08) Strip effect automation data can’t easily be moved between channels
09) Strip effect choices and settings can’t easily be moved between channels
10) Strip modules with sidechain input lose their input routing when redone on a new channel
11) Insert plugins with sidechain input lose their input routing when moved between channels
12) Insert plugins with MIDI input lose their input routing when moved between channels
13) Freezing the parent channel doesn’t freeze any of the Group tracks
14) You have to route Groups through Groups when you actually want to Group multiple instruments together (gets complex, messy, hard to follow)
15) Render-In-Place has no provisions for dealing with channels routed through Groups that are routed through more Groups
16) Having to continuously name and rename chains and chains of Group channels is more laborious than you’d think
17) Lots of difficulty/confusion with automating volume faders and moving that data between channels
I’m pretty sure there are more issues than this… but hopefully this gives you a taste of why we’re not satisfied with just routing through a Group track. Personally, I end up using lots and lots and lots of chained Group channels, even though I strongly believe in using the minimal amount of processing to get the desired effect. Long plugin chains typically involve lots of sidechaining, MIDI-control and automation - these are all horrrribly tedious to do with chains and chains of Group channels. 