Living in California I seldom have to deal with large amounts of leaves. I have one elm tree on my parkway that gives me a good haul of leaves over a short period each fall. I don’t know if it is just my lack of experience with other types lof leaf mulch or if that elm much is as great as I think it is. I find it useful for keeping weeds down in the planters as well as being a great stand alone fertilizer for great colors and flowers.
The one outstanding quality I found with it is if I mulch it all back into the lawn dichondra seems to come from no where and dominate the other grasses. After several months the mulch looses some of its magic and the dichondra starts to retreat.
I also like the way it provides habitat for salamanders, toads and tree frogs. Every time I see pictures from back east of people burning leaves I cringe. I wish I had several more trees.