Even Aquaeros can't do as much standalone as Aquasuite can do. But If you need basic cooling like a simple one curve per sensor, no need for a service.But then... maybe no need for an Aquacomputer controller if you mean to completely bypass Aquasuite.
I see Aquasuite as a simple "setting tool" to program the settings I want into my Aquaero's, so that they can then proceed to work independent of the host. That - apart from the occasional pretty charts and graphs - is the only thing I use it for. The service is always disabled, and Aquasuite itself rarely runs unless I need to change something.
And the Aquaeros are amazing in their own right without Aquasuite.
Most motherboards are not able to hook up temperature sensors or flow sensors to them, and are unable to properly control pump speed.
Another ace the Aquaero has up its sleeve is to be MUCH More efficient than a traditional temperature curve, by being programmed like a PID controller in what Aquacomputer calls a "setpoint controller". A traditional temperature curve will in all conditions other than max temp apply more fan and/or pump speed than is necessary to maintain your target temp. A PID controller does not have this problem. That feature alone makes the Aquaero worth its weight in gold.
In my case I spend maybe 90% of my time in Linux (where there is no Aquasuite software anyway) and I have a large and complex loop that cools multiple machines, so relying on any one OS to provide sensor input would not be effective.
I am constantly dual booting or booting from external media to test things, and I want my loop control to work as intended (and not hit a failsafe speed) when I do.
I also tend to not like software or services constantly running on my machines. The less going on at any given moment, the better. None of my hardware companion software is ever installed or running other than initial setup. Too many of these vendors software are just poor excuses for spyware looking to "monetize data".
I bought my Aquaeros
exactly because they could operate independently of the OS. That's why they were worth the money to me. If I just wanted to control PWM speeds based on software sensor outputs, I'd probably use some open source freeware program to do so.
As far as I am concerned OS independence is the Aquaeros biggest selling point!
(I just wish I could configure it from other operating systems than just Windows. Something like a virtual Ethernet interface over USB, and the ability to point my browser to it and configure it using a webpage (or even via SSH using a terminal), much like an IPMI/BMC system on a server would be amazing)