Mesh light versus multiple rect lights

[SonyBoy]

Is there any particular benefit to using regular rect lights over a mesh light? I have a model that requires multiple tiny rectangular LEDs and I need it to be able to have the lights both on and off. Since I already had a series of tiny planes for the "off" state it seemed sensible to turn this into a mesh light. But I'm wondering if making a series of rect lights would render faster or otherwise be better.

For one thing I still really dislike the confusing way mesh lights work, with the light itself always difficult to find once it's been created. Any other benefits to sticking with regular lights?

[^Lele^]

Standard light fixtures can be better optimised, and will render quicker.
Mesh lights, on the other hand, have arbitrary shapes, and require more effort, in general.
Always stick to standard lights where perfomance is a key differentiator.
Other than that, they'll bot converge to the same thing (assuming the shapes coincide) if left to.