I have used circos plots many times in the past (genomics). They make for very pretty figures. But, like you said, the major problem with them is that they are

I have used circos plots many times in the past (genomics). They make for very pretty figures. But, like you said, the major problem with them is that they are difficult to accurately interpret. They are used often to compare whole genome rearrangements, but the resolution has to be reduced to so much that you just can’t use them quantitatively. They are useful for qualitative comparisons, but it really suffers when you need to show details.