Lt. Fubar
I agree with most of what you have to say, but the basket is not such a liability as you suggest.
It would be more like one minute per cycle per person on a winch. A Super Puma type with say, a twenty survivor lift could take 20 - 30 minutes to fill - single lift - somewhere near half that with adouble lift. Even so, a basket rescue - provided that the basket was positioned properly could lift 16 people in a few minutes.
Inshore or oilfields, short-range jobs a basket rescue is the answer.