Depends. Many make pretty ugly compromises. Poor pads, not much leverage, and even being single sided which often drags and requires the disc to bend for good braking.

So cable-pull disc vs rim brakes is less clear, more susceptible to case by case differences.

However hydraulic discs are always (AFAIK), double sided, and almost always better than even the highest end rim brakes.

Not to mention who wants to destroy their nice rims by dragging brakes on them, leading to relatively short lives as the rim walls get ever thinner, right up till they start cracking. I'd rather replace a disc than a rim after 5-10k miles.