JuicieJ
SHOW ME YA MOVES!
Fairies have become more of an insurance rather than a full-blown source of health lately. Whereas they recovered all of your hearts in the older games, The Minish Cap had only 5 hearts of recovery, Twilight Princess had 8, and Skyward Sword had 6. Normal potions don't heal much more, but advanced ones heal all hearts, so they're true sources of health. So... it really depends on the game and situation.