Reverse pendulum serve vs. backhand sidespin

I have grown up using a backhand sidespin serve, and it has been very successful for me over the years, and I'm very comfortable with it. Now I'm trying to learn the reverse pendulum serve as it appears to be the most professional looking. That being said, I've been practicing, and it feels very awkward to do and does not seem like anything special. Moreover, my backhand sidespin serve appears to get more spin, going the same direction. I understand that one of the benefits of the forehand pendulum serve is being able to vary your serve using the regular and reverse pendulums respectively, but that is the only positive I can see. So the question is, is the reverse pendulum serve better than the backhand sidespin? If so, why?