Well, to be fair, make and browserify do completely different jobs. You can't substitute browserify for make, nor vice versa.

But to be honest, if you see learning new things as wasting your attention on new fads, I don't think this stuff is for you. I really like trying new things that people have made and seeing what they can do. If that feels like a chore/hardship to you, you absolutely should just keep using make.