I use avy in emacs. I think it's the same thing more or less. To your point, I think it's a balancing act. Does the precomputed sequence of actions take longer than the letter-processing interruption? If so, use avy. It's an additional tool, not a replacement. Every now and then it comes in really handy. For example, I occasionally work on files that have a lot of repetition. I find myself turning to avy more in this scenario. I also use Vimium in the browser. Link hints (the same thing as being discussed) are much superior to mouse selection.