I don't like or use my 1/4" foot. I don't like the metal bar and I don't have a single hole cover plate. So I use my metal zig zag foot when I piece ... it has right & left markings on it; I use the right mark as a guide to sew a scant 1/4" seam while my needle is in the far left position, where the machine does not try to eat my fabric. If I had to sew those narrow seams with the needle in center position, I would be forced to buy a single hole cover plate.
Besides the aforementioned walking, darning, and satin stitch feet, I also like my stitch in the ditch foot. On that one, the metal bar is a good thing ... it keeps my stitching right where it needs to be. Before I bought the SID foot, my attempts to SID were pitiful.