I use my walking foot on my Baby Lock at least half the time for general sewing. The general straight stitch foot (the one with the "clear" plastic) has gotten sort of cloudy over time on mine. I agree it's a bit hard to see what what the needle is doing. I dislike the 1/4" foot with the flange on it also. The little metal tab is too flexible and wobbles all over. When I used to do a lot of garment sewing, I had a generic adjustable zipper foot that I liked SO much better than the one that came with the machine that just switches from side to side.
My new Brother Dreamweaver has the "O" foot for FMQ and I absolutely love it. I personally do not have a SID foot, but my quilty girlfriend down the street swears by hers.