Funny I've been asking / talking about this in DIY...
I'm very much against blind-other-drivers brightness, but slightly better than stock isn't bad. It is a look thing to me... I think the white is a lot sharper than amber... but people spending hundreds of bucks to retrofit spotlights into their stock housings is just silly. There's really absolutely no reason to go (much) brighter than stock if you obey the speed limits and drive defensively. I think the biggest advantage of an HID or hyper-white bulbs is a look thing, to be honest.
And to each his own. Their our cars and we can do whatever the hell we want to them, ricer, non-ricer, its all whatever, so long as YOU like it.