I'm sure it's an improvement, especially for low shots - it gets the camera CG down under the hold point. If you're familiar with a gimballed rig, you already know the fun of getting the balance right <wink>, it's always a bit different for a non-gimbal system - it's really easy to instinctively put "manual input" into the rig to counteract an imbalance, thus resulting in less stability.

i've used a DIY version that Robin mentioned, of the cam caddie, works great.

actually got the idea from watching some kids taping some skateboarding.

an old Air Tire Wheelborrow :-) mount it on the front, you can twist and turn all you like , go anywhere, jam into into things, tilt it right, have a nice 40" tv in the barrel for a monitor.
(freaking cheapskate i am :-)

last week i used a Chest stick, and the top handle mounting shoe, camera is its own counterweight. Hold arm out (till it falls off) for stabilisation , pictures through the grass and down the trail looked great.
then i tried to follow the dog , the same way, for the subject shots, and failed miserably.
60% of the dog eye view was totally usable, 2% of the dog IN the frame was :-(
I now have new respect for Animal filmmakers.