I love the option of setting the needle at 1/4". I use it that way. I dont have the special foot either.

I had the little clear 1/4" foot (without a guide) and I recently went back to using the A foot and adjusted the needle setting like Rose Marie mentioned (though on my machine I set it to 2.3). The reason I switched is you get usage of all the feed dogs with the A foot; with the little 1/4" foot you lose half the left dog - and I think some stability.

I havent tried the regular foot which has the guide attached - although I have the 1/4" walking foot with guide and I love it for attaching binding.