if you are trying to think of ffmpeg as a traditional editor, then yes it is the wrong tool. if you want to programmatically process video/audio/etc, then it is a god send. if you have 100s, 1000s, or more videos that all have different encoding parameters (framesize,framerate,etc) where all of them need a logo or two or three prepended/appended, it would take human ops in a GUI environment forever to sort them and apply the correct logos. this is a piece of cake script-o-matically with ffprobe and ffmpeg. that's just a simple task barely even making ffmpeg get it's heartbeat up from idle. add text that comes up saying some version of "don't share this video" at timed intervals, add a studio bug, burn-in subtitles, etc. all in the same single command and hands-free. now we're talking time saving.
any new piece of software that doesn't get used frequently will have the same "what's the command again" situation. plus, the filter list is just a web page open next to your terminal away.
any new piece of software that doesn't get used frequently will have the same "what's the command again" situation. plus, the filter list is just a web page open next to your terminal away.