I think of them like melee cantrips. Not gamechanging, but they add spice to your basic kit and they can synergize really well with what you're good at. One of my favorites is the soul knife rogue's knives having vex. If you hit with vex, your next attack is at advantage against them, so it becomes a new way to proc sneak attack that incentivizes active participation, doesn't penalize you and doesn't rely on the positioning of allies and enemies both.