Give me something to count and I will count it in a way that it comes out to 108, or 8, of 5, or 18, but never 4. It is true that those numbers are superstitions, but I think that the forms are the forms, the techniques are the techniques and the coincidence that it happens to come out to 108 has more to do with how and what you count than what you actually do. It's easy (easier in fact) to count differently and come out to a different number. I've done some business in China with modern tech companies and when you look at their org charts and project plans, you'll see these numbers as well. It's steeped in their culture. It's fun to play along, but I don't think that it actually means anything.
For me, the forms matter. They help me and they help my students. We spend a lot of time on application, most of our time, in fact, but I think the forms ground us. I still get things out of them after all these years. Things that I wasn't necessarily taught, but having the forms is like having a set of encyclopedias ... or a science text book on Kindle. It's reference material, certainly no harm comes from it. I suppose I could teach the system without it, but I wouldn't want to.
The thing is that the idea of 108, isn't mine, its from rather reputable scholars of Wing Chun like Sifu Danny Xuan (among others). Next when it is in form after form it beggars, imo, coincidence. It would not be unusual either, if we take the origin of WC (coming from the 5 Shaolin Masters) at face value as Shaolin is steeped in Buddhist thought.
Also note, I am not saying that the forms do not matter. I find them extremely useful myself. I make sure I do the forms daily just as a form of meditation, and in meditating I reinforce my Art. It also reinforces me overcoming my right side dominance and the like. My final point is simply connected to my reference of Paramilitary training. If you are looking to create a practically effective fighter as fast as possible, not being concerned about the richer context of the art, the rituals which can aid training (emptying the cup and the like), and continuing the tradition, there are other ways to teach. So it's not about a better method, it's about what method do your current circumstances demand.
All teaching is like this. As an example I see the Socratic/Confucian method of teaching to be similar to that of Traditional Martial Arts training with forms. You not only learn the subject matter, but you also learn deeper topics. Since the learning process includes an open dialogue between the student and the instructor, it can take longer to learn the "facts" but as you learn the facts you have a deeper understanding of the topic (not just the what or how but the "why"), learn critical thinking skills, it encourages creativity, listen skills and the ability to actively reflect on issues.
The more typical, and faster, method of learning that largely revolves around the memorization and regurgitation. You are practically effective, you know what happened on a specific date, know how to solve a particular equation or a passage from a great play, but the deeper lessons can be lost. The thing is, depending on your circumstances, learning the deeper lesson may be impractical. In the Martial Arts context maybe the teacher is quickly trying to train fighters for an existing conflict, as an example. In such a scenario waiting many months, even years to have an effective fighter is simply not an option.