As is the nature of bad design, “nobody uses it other than some people sometimes” is a silly sentiment and indicative of a problem.

That's the biggest problem with them. Something isn't as dangerous when it's in your face and you need to confront it on a regular basis. What's dangerous are the things that rarely need to think about, except for that very rare moment when it bites you in the ass precisely because it's not on your mind.

I've definitely seen initializer lists recommended as best-practice in safety-critical code.