As a noob, I look at the detailed reviews a lot, but I only consider the numerical score if it's an outlier (very high/very low), and only then if there are details about the scoring in the reviews. I'm mostly looking for opinions on things that are hard to assess when you aren't a great player yet, such as whether experienced players like the strategy on a pin or not or whether the play value holds up over time. I haven't rated any machines yet myself, because I am still learning what I like/don't like on various machines.
But yes, more EM reviews please!!