Hmmmm... I have just now come to realize that the majority of my rifles have been "specialized" in some way or another.
My first deer rifle was a Ruger 96/44. Short, light, .44 Magnum levergun, ideal for close in encounters. Topped with a lower-power scope I was quite confident with that rifle. But it was a specialized tool.
Next came a Remington 700 Mtn in .260 Remington. Longer, more "elegant", more powerful, longer-legged, but still a "deer rifle" with limited utility against larger animals (IMO), though I would have carried it elk hunting if I still had it and ever get a chance to go. And frankly, my hunting area and conditions didn't change, so...
Then came my Marlin 1894PG. Kind of like the Ruger but a more traditional package, and this one wears peeps. Haven't hunted it yet, but again, it is a specialized close-range hunting tool.
Sometime after the Marlin came along I traded my 700 for a TC Encore Katahdin muzzleloader. This is another rifle that mimics the ballistics of that first .44 Magnum Ruger. I haven't hunted this one either (both the Marlin and TC are acquisitions from after last deer season), but muzzleloader opens one week from Saturday and I'll be ready!
So for me, I prefer specialized. Even though my finances won't allow a huge number of firearms (poor college kid), I will likely end up with more rifles in the future, and very unlikely I will ever have a true "generalist" amongst them.
Oops, wait! I do have one generalist; a battered old .30-06 built on a VZ-24 action given to me by my girlfriend's father in exchange for helping him prepare to move. It's awfully tempting to rehab the ol' stick and get it in proper trim. But otherwise, I somehow doubt I ever would have gotten the "do-all" -06!
(Again, unhunted, another summer pickup.)