There are a number of advantages to using the side slip all the way down short final rather than crabbing all the way down and then yawing the nose downwind into centerline alignment and putting the wing down to counter drift at the last minute.

One- By bracketing the centerline between our legs as soon as we turn final, we immediately have real time evidence of any crosswind. This way we pick up immediately on those tricky light crosswinds that cause the majority of landing incidents like ground loop. It is important to understand, using either technique, that we both bracket the centerline longitudinally or by crabbing using dynamic proactive rudder. The anti-turn control, the rudder alone, is the useful tool here. It either brackets the centerline or crab angle by keeping the wing level. No bank, no turn. Coordinated turns cannot direct our course exactly. We are never on target, just continuously returning to a general heading. This causes the majority of landing problems with either tail or nose wheel.

Two- By setting the bank angle for any drift, we know how much bank angle we will need to touch down with. Kicking the nose down the centerline just before touchdown means we don't really know how much bank angle we will need to take over countering drift from flair to touchdown. The round out and hold off technique makes the timing of the rudder movement very difficult since during the hold off the pilot is actually just a passenger having no effective control of rate of descent and glide angle. Elevator is not the best rate of descent control, especially because it will reverse as physics (not the pilot) decreases the nose up elevator effectiveness. Nose down still works, but don't go there. Throttle? Oh, we threw that very effective rate of descent and glide angle control out the window when we closed the throttle to round out going much too fast to land in ground effect.

Three- If we are drifted in a light to moderate crosswind, we can align with the downwind corner of the runway and use dynamic proactive rudder to make the new target the upwind corner of the runway on the departure end.

Four- When we know we will have strong crosswind, the safest technique is to fly the downwind leg of the pattern downwind of the runway. Now we can easily and safely manage the wind with a teardrop base and base to final turn combined. The target of this turn is the exact downwind corner of the runway. The new centerline is from the downwind corner to the upwind big airplane touchdown zone white square, 1,000' down the runway into a significant headwind component. We still use dynamic proactive rudder to bracket this new centerline and we still use whatever stabilized bank is necessary to prevent drift. It is still rub tummy, pat head cross controlled. The apparent brisk walk rate of closure, with this much headwind component, will appear to be a very slow walk and the ground speed safely be well below Vso out of ground effect airspeed. Dynamic elevator (this cannot be trimmed) will be used to maintain this apparent very slow closure rate and dynamic throttle (no not a stabilized RPM) will be used to deal with gust spread, descent rate, and to direct us to the exact downwind corner spot.

I academically understand the awkwardness of holding cross controls from way out, but I just don't approach from way out. Why not use the crab until short final and then change to the side slip cross controlled technique? When angling across to take some bite out of a strong crosswind component, however, the crab technique would put the crab angle at a significant offset to the runway centerline. Yes, we would kick over only to the new centerline from downwind corner to upwind runway edge. I have recently had problems, in a strong crosswind, with an instructor I was teaching this technique. He didn't keep the get the upwind wing down, in the kickover, and drifted to the downwind side of the runway still in a crab. I had to bank left into the wind and put right rudder to the stop to align with the angled centerline. We bounced a little bit, but our ground speed was very slow.

So rather than try to convert crabbers into side slippers, I will just advise changing from crab to side slip far enough out that actual conditions can be assessed prior to flair. You may have an accurate crab angle to counter drift conversion to bank angle to counter drift, but the one shot at the bottom could be dicey in strong crosswinds. Sort of like autorotation in a helicopter. Once you pull pitch you lose turns. Once you lose turns, it is a done deal. The safe thing about side slip is that you are adjusting bank angle to prevent drift all the way down.

Regardless of crosswind technique, it is the headwind component ground speed reduction with a power/pitch approach that reduces fatalities. Yes, prior planning to not go there in the first place also reduces fatalities. I am talking about situations where we have already either made that mistake or are in a job that requires wind management or just want to master wind management. More ground speed than in no wind conditions indicates no wind management and is more dangerous than the awkward gross rudder and throttle movements involved with deceleration on short final. Go around is less likely to create as many incidents and accidents, just more fatalities. I have never had a fatality during an apparent brisk walk rate of closure approach, especially those that ended with touchdown at 20 mph ground speed or less. And the wind has never slammed me into the ground. Nor do I bounce.

Some winds now are becoming extreme and unworkable. But most are not. Generally the wind is our friend because it reduces ground speed, the speed at which we contact the ground. Reduced radius of turn is just another advantage when working low. Help getting off when high, hot and heavy. Ridge lift. Thermals. Lots of things.

I have never flown a single engine airplane so heavy that I could not use the angle across power/pitch approach. I have flow airplanes so light that I physically could not stand more than an hour of being thrown around by strong turbulence. Lightness, however, is an advantage when using the angle across. In larger airplanes, any airplane, the speed up of the apparent rate of closure near touchdown is simply not acceptable. We have to make the exact downwind corner touchdown spot at slow enough ground speed to at least be able to turn down the runway at the big airplane touchdown zone white square. The wind speed and crosswind/headwind component should determine touchdown ground speed. The technique should be flow the same, regardless of crosswind/headwind component. Adding airspeed for gusts and increased crosswind/headwind component defeats the technique. Actually adding airspeed for any landing technique defeats the technique somewhat. We have to slow to stall airspeed in very low ground effect to get the airplane to quit flying. Driving a nose geared airplane onto the ground is hard on the nose gear and causes bounce. Driving a tailwheel airplane onto the ground usually causes bounce and is unnecessary in strong winds. Decelerate normally and then level the fuselage to wheel land. When the headwind component is strong enough that the airplane is still flying at zero ground speed, we definitely have a taxi problem, especially in tailwheel airplanes.