There is (was) a benefit to the NDB being located remotely from the field (typically approx 4 nm and coincident with the OM): timing from the beacon inbound gave a reasonably precise indication of range from touchdown. The disadvantage was interpretation of the back bearing on the ADF - it was easy to turn 'the wrong way' when the bearing wasn't correct. When I was doing IR checking in the sim I would brief:
Under the mental workload it'll be easy to turn the wrong way if the back bearing isn't spot on. Here's a dodge to help you - once you've passed the beacon, set up a heading which gives you the required track inbound. In other words you can ignore the beacon for a while. By the laws of physics, if you departed the beacon on the correct track then your back bearing will be very close to what's required. Later on when you've got a moment or two you can sneak a look at the ADF indications to check all is well.
In the sim there was the bonus of HSI readout of track made good but even without FMC the concept still applies - fly a heading which you estimate will give you the correct track.
Arguably another benefit of NDB approaches is (was) sharpening basic handling skills (and boosting confidence), more so when manually flown. We used to call this 'airmanship'.