My old boat, a 42 Californian, had upper and lower helm stations. I'd run from the upper helm station any time the weather was nice or I was in crowded waters, e.g. marinas, anchorages, and harbor entrances, or anytime there was something I really wanted to see well at a distance, or I was concerned about local hazards, e.g. crab traps or rocks or the surface of the water.
But, if the weather was bad, or it was at night and cold, as long as I was in open, uncrowded, and uncomplicated water, I had no concern about piloting the boat for hours from the lower helm. And, sometimes when the weather got nasty and I couldn't see well anyway (heavy fog or super heavy rain), I piloted from the lower helm, anyway. I just creeped along really slowly, set and really watched radar, AIS, and stayed prepared to react quickly if anyone moving faster than me appeared out of nowhere quickly.
The other thing I did from the lower helm sometimes was to use it to bump the transmissions to keep myself straight and from drifting too far forward or backward while tying up in the wind. It was a long slow way up to the flybridge from the ropes.
My big problem with the lower helm was just all of the reflection on the glass. I never managed to get it dark enough to see out as well as I could from the top. Up top, the strataglass was worse than the lower windshield for reflections and glare. But, I could see out the back and most of the two sides, and easily look around the front windshield or poke my head out of a zipper. At the lower helm, all I could really do was poke my head out the door, and that gave me less than half of what was around me.
In the boat I just bought, the lower helm has a wheel, but no engine or transmission controls. They were reportedly never hooked up, even when the boat is new. They are dual-engine/dual-function controls. From what I heard from a prior owner, the manufacturer had gotten sued over the calibration of the neutral/gear point after an accident involving a sister ship and left it to the dealer to install the cables and assume the liability -- and they left it to the owner.
I think I am owner #4 -- and the first to be hooking them up. That is, with luck, this weekend's project. If for nothing else, I really want it working in case I need it tying up.
And, I can imagine that if I ever need to catch a ball; by myself (which I have never done) -- I'll need that lower helm.