Basicly my question is pretty simple. Why not just skip the linear/circular patterns and just use feature driven. It has one advantage. For example; if I edit my flange from 12 to 14 bolts, my assy's bolts would update accordingly.
I take it you mean linear/circular sketch patterns vs linear/circular feature patterns?
This has been discussed before. The general consensus is the feature pattern is the 'better' method. However, sketch patterns can be useful for component placement when creating a master layout sketch.
I think I wasn;t 100% clear - What I mean is in an assembly. You put 1 bolt in your flange and then you want to fill up the rest. This can be either by using circ. pattern or use the feature pattern and take the circular pattern from the part.