I come from late 80's to 90's anime. One of my first hentais was in fact the original Bible Black (not a fan, but it did introduce me to futa). So, as you can see, I come from an era where hermies/futas didn't come with the extra baggage.
I don't know how long ago it was, but I remember this trend of ball-mania starting quite a few years ago. At first it was a rarity to find testicles on a futa. Now I can't open a futanari manga/doujinshi without a giant pair of hairless balls shoving themselves in my face! There's so many loving shots of the giant things it makes me gag. Literally.
_Yeah, I know it's odd how, on the odd occasion I feel inclined to give the futa tag a search, I find futanari hentai only gross when there's a pair of balls attached to the fabled hermaphrodite (or when it's futa-on-futa). Yet there it is.
What do you lot think? Do you think futanari is better with balls or without? Try to imagine your favorite futa characters (like Kaine up there from "Nier") with and without a pair and think of which you can dig easier. I can't dig testicles, even in the land of the futa.
For me, the most important thing about a futa, is that there's a pussy. Thing is, the scrotum in a male is in the same place as the vulva, and it just doesn't look right to me when there's both. So:
pussy+no balls > pussy+balls > no pussy+balls
I don't really mind the balls in and of themselves. It's just that the opportunity cost is either a pussy or the last semblance of reality in hentai, both of which are worth more to me.
That said, futanari is like my failproof backup fetish. All the stuff I don't normally like, like rape, ahegao, piercings, huge cocks/tits, fluids in every direction, etc. are usually fine with futa. Unlike a lot of others, I prefer futa/male, with both partners being dominant a little bit (like the guy blowing the futa).