A few points:
1) You seem to be confusing going visual with going VFR. The former does not automatically mean the latter - visual approach is still a part of IFR flight
2) Re your comments sticking to the briefed/rehearsed plan - why not include a possibility of shooting a visual app in your approach briefing? If the weather looks right, I always try to brief beforehand if (and how) I intend to shoot a visual app - to avoid 'inventing a new way to land', as you put it
3) Echoing comments of other contributors, I think that visual approaches are a part of professional pilot's 'tool set' and are perfectly safe provided there are carried out correctly and in appropriate conditions - be it in a puddle jumper or an A380 - plus, they're more fun than chasing the needles (or worse, watching the autopilot do it)
