to an easy "yes, we should use winders" or "no, winders should not be used."
Both Jack Freedman and John Davis have much much more bench experience than 99% of the readers and participants on this site.
But like asking fish to describe water, or asking fish to describe air, they may be so immersed in the world of the watchmaker that secondary issues that are very real, might also be forgotten or missed.
Like the dangers of damage BY THE WATCHMAKER SUPPOSED TO DO THE ROUTINE SERVICING.
I have personally had far too many personal experiences, compounded by hearing directly from principals, with horror stories of watches that went in with no problems and for nothing more than routine maintenance, that came back with REAL problems due to slipped screwdrivers; improper torquing; bent or "crossed" hairsprings; bent bridges or plates...
I realize that my comments have more to do with "should I have my watches serviced regularly or only when they are showing a problem?" than it does with "to use watchwinders or not to use watchwinders" but the issues are related.
Specifically in regards to using watchwinders, consider the dangers of a newbie (or distracted old timer) setting a date at 11:58pm.
Or pulling a crown out too hard.
or...
The issue reminds me of whether a cancer patient should agree to chemo or not (a very real and personal consideration) - pump a body full of poisons to kill some bad cells, or let those bad cells potentially run rampant and take over enough good cells to kill the host.
Informed consent, that is the best we can hope for.
Cheers,
TM