I'm no carpenter, but I help out in exchange for money. I don't know much about construction, but I've learned the value of the Torx in the wood butcher's trade. When applying a great many screws on a job, the Torz are far easier to master, and can be lined up and thrown in correctly with much greater ease than the Phillips. Holding the drill correctly is always necessary, but the T is far more forgiving. It also seems that the quality of lag bolts from China have been getting worse for over a decade, some of them twisting off a bit to easily, and they sure ain't what they used to be. The German built GRK structural screws, however, have become quite a suitable replacement, and with a bigger Torx head, even the big long screws are easy to drive in.

For machining, I cannot say anything, but in screwing wood to various things, I think the Phillips is completely obsolete. The glory days of the 3 inch slotted and Phillips wood screw are over.