imo each game category has its pathfinder and ai requirements. some of them can be get in some game engines, but they are not definitely a good choice in all cases, and sometimes they do not support complex pathfinding and collision avoidance, or does not work effectively.
for a simple stupid shooter a node based can be enough.
but in case of a squad based action game a navmesh is needed, as it can handle much more characters with high level area pathfinding and low level dynamic obstacle avoidance.
in case of a RTS where complex ai decision making system is required, and hundreds of characters should move in groups together, and handle also the environment changes dynamically (new buildings), a hierarchical area + tile based is better, which theory is not far from navmesh.
for open field RTS battles, potential field pathfinder also can be a good choice, it has some good features for ai decision making, but has significant limitations in complex environments.
so it is really practical to have an own pathfinder, to have full control over the base of your game ai, as it is heavily related to npc ai behaviour. and game making is not only 3d art, a good and flexible ai can result in long and interesting playing experience.
