I've used the "cheapie" style come-along several times without difficulty. I'm not a hardcore offroader so this suits my needs well. Most of my 4x4 travel is on minimum maintenance roads when I'm out hunting.

In my limited experience there seems to be something about the speed at which it pulls the stuck vehicle out that makes it effective. We were able to slowly pull a truck out of the muck that we hadn't been able to budge with two trucks pulling in tandem.

I agree that standing next to it can be hazardous so you have to be careful. I carry a couple of tow straps so I can run one from the truck to the winch and the other from the other end of the winch to a tree or some other suitable object to make the pull.

I'm not sure this is the best way to go, but it's worked for me a couple of times. The other advantage is that it's relatively small and light so I can throw the hardcase I use to carry extra coolant, oil, tie-downs, tools, tow straps, come-along, and other stuff in my pickup ('93 Nissan kingcab 4x4 thank you very much) when I take it instead.