I agree. The front page itself is trivial. Custom pages (unlimited in content, number, arrangement and individual styling) are another big benefit. Side panels added to the forum, that can be made to appear or disappear with one click, add a lot more available functionality particularly if you are site admin. Top and bottom blocks can also be useful although to my mind they are not as important.
Everyone has their own ideas on the optimum layout. My opinion is that:
1/ It must look clean and slick. Haphazard insertion of blocks all over the place reduces the appeal of a site. This means that both the content and the sizes of the blocks must be considered when deciding on layout.
2/ The arrangement of the blocks must make good ergonomic sense. As an example, I find that having a listing of recent posts at the left of the forum works really well. People love it because they can see what is going on while they are browsing the forum. In fact the traditional board index, although it is often considered the central part of a forum, is in my opinion almost redundant on a well laid-out site.
3/ The number of blocks per page and their content must be carefully considered with regard to load times. As an example, RSS feeds are resource hogs, so if you have six different RSS feeds and a shoutbox and a listing of the last 50 recent posts all on the forum's main page then it will load like a total slug compared to a basic SMF forum. Use what you need on each page and no more. If you need more then link to it clearly with a custom menu.