More common now are M-Lok and to a lesser degree keymod grips that have a rail on the top but slots on the side.
They do away with what you refer to as cheese grater.
As for the longer grips. I just put an AR together with a 15” grip. I like it as it allows me to extend my weak hand out and get a more stable grip.
Don't worry about what furniture others are using. Use what works for you. I don't think I've seen an AR set up the way any of mine are, probably because I'm the only one idiotic enough to think think it'll work. Setup your AR the way you think it should be, then go shoot it go see how it works, and change what doesn't.What really has me scratching my head is the gaudy, almost barrel length hand guards that seem to be catching on. These cheese grater hand guards with 4 rails on them just seem way overboard. I mean really, how much stuff can you hang off a rifle and it still be functional? And what's the point of one that spans the entire length of the barrel?
There are a lot of guys who drastically overdo it, such they’re over extending their elbow, excessive forward flexion of the shoulder, and unsupported excessive Adduction at the wrist... and it’s extremely obvious in watching them...
The hand guards with small rail sections towards the front make more sense to me.....It really is personal preference and I definitely don't worry about how others see fit to personalize their rifles......I've been a bolt action rifle guy most of my life. I'm just now getting into customizing AR's to suit my intended uses. It amazed me when looking for hand guards how many different styles there were.....very few of them actually seemed practical. But someone saw a need for a certain design and enough people bought them to make them profitable to produce.
I agree I do not like rails on the sides or bottom of forends. I recently put a new forend on mine. I went from a 12" vented tube to a 15" keymod one. I actually bought this to go on my 20" 223 upper to save some weight but thought I would try it on my 16" 7.62x39 upper instead. It is keymod but the only thing I will be putting on it is a bipod mount.
after
View attachment 782332
I'm kind of indifferent as to the looks of them but I do like the narrower grip and being able to put my hand further out toward the muzzle seams to help my offhand shooting.
What rail is that? It makes the barrel look longer than 16”. What is the flash hider? That’s a good looking gun.