"is there a quick explanation as to why this is better?"

Note I did say 'might be safer' and that it was an incidental comment.

I just like things to be what they seem. As much as possible if a cell
looks empty I like it to be empty so that I don't have to start
considering 'What if there are invisible characters in there - how
shall I handle them? How many invisible characters are there in that cell?

The procedure I described using '(Non Blanks)' treats cells with just
a space in, in the same way as empty cells. So it doesn't matter there.

It is just a matter of preference.

If I get a moment I will address your chief problem.