I do my best micro stippling on my basic machine. I just work in smaller areas at a time. I also find that for really fine work, I have better control with pushing the fabric under the machine, than with the long arm method of "driving" the machine over the quilt.
I also "only" have 11" throat space on my quilting machine frame, so when I need to do larger blocks in a cohesive pattern, I'll do it on the table top. That's when I can't break the pattern into smaller pieces for the frame.
I agree with the description of FMQ as anything that is not machine guided. It's not only 'scribbling' on fabric. Some of the FMQ designs are quite intricate.