I've noticed a number of people saying that with automatic Marriott Rewards Gold, that they would not stay at Marriotts but instead pursue status at Hilton or Starwood. I understand this feeling because I could see myself feeling the same way.

But is this logical? It means that I'm not taking advantage of the MR Gold status benefits and instead am staying at places where I won't benefit from the status I already have.

This would be analogous to me saying that because I have Mileage Plus lifetime Gold I am going to fly on Delta to get status there instead of flying United to take advantage of my Gold benefits.