I think it's a fantastic way to get value. Short of having significant influence over a company (Buffet) or very good intelligence about a company (e.g. to speculate that the value of a stock will change dramatically and use that information to make a trade) I consider it just about the best way to get value out of equities. The cash from dividends can be reinvested (the yield acts something like an interest rate on a savings account, although obviously the risk is higher and it isn't exactly the same thing) or pooled with cash from other dividends to diversify, etc.

I also like to issue covered calls/puts against assets/cash in my brokerage account for cash flow, although that's a tad more speculative than taking dividends.