I don't see Crobat doing anything except Taunting then U-Turning against most leads. Honestly, people say Stealth Rock is key, but I let my opponent set it up quite a lot, kill their lead, then proceed to spin/lure(LO Starmie + Rapid Spin Forretress destroys anti-spinners), and set up my own rocks.
@ Intro1827: Am I saying you have to use it? No. But personally, I prefer killing leads over Taunting or stopping set up, as my team doesn't whore pokemon like Salamence or Gyarados who are weak to rocks. Maybe other teams need to prevent it, but mine doesn't.
Yeah, I think it depends on the team.
Some teams are not littered with frail pokemon that'll fold on the first attempted sweep with stealth rock up.
The opponent might get up stealth rock but didn't do it for free since I fainted a pokemon.
Five more to go with probably a rather healthy dragonite.
So the question is whether the opponent will prove stealth rocks/rain dance/sunny day/whatever was worth the one pokemon or I will make the one pokemon advantage decisive.
I guess this is what you'd call a gambit in chess where material is offered in the opening for some positional/strategic advantage.
Whether it will pay off or not depends on who executes best or has the better team.
So basically, I don't think a lead that can't prevent stealth rock is necessarily useless.
Reacting to your opponent's likely move is, after all, a very defensive way to begin.
However, this might be a valid approach if your team is particularly SR weak.
But sometimes it's preferable to go for your strategy whether that is to grab a quick lead or set up a beneficial field effect of your own.
I certainly don't see ES Dragonite rendering other leads obsolete but it can be a solid option for the right team.
It seems to me that this guy is either overrated or under valued.