I don't review because I was so put off by the threads complaining about what not to do, what to do...just struck me as why bother. There are a few who have laundry lists of how a review is to be written and it's just blah.
Saying that, I rarely read instructions because I don't have to. I cut off the seam allowances, walk the pattern
(checking draft), fix it and then maybe look over the instructions to see the order they have it listed as. When I have reviewed a pattern or been asked by a friend, I do read through them for errors, but I don't always use them. Biggest caveat to this is that I pattern test for a company and I do follow and read those instructions even if I generally do it different because it is part of what I am checking.
However: I have books that I learned from that answers anything I forgot or need to know. All else, I check you tube or the web, usually what I find is easier and better to understand then the pattern instructions. There are exceptions to this, of course, Connie Crawford branded patterns by Butterick and Simplicity's Sewing for Dummies and Learn to Sew series. So when I say I don't use the instructions, it's not because they are necessarily bad, it is because I am too lazy to bother with them.
On the self drafted, if they give details, then it can be useful. I am making a dress for my daughter that I drafted and reviewing it for her (which I'm not going to actually do, mind) could offer tips on how to work around some fitting issues for a plus sized child. Or make an easy gathered skirt. Or show that it's not hard to make a simple retro dress. So there is some use to the reviews of self drafted, but only if the writer is willing to give a lot of details on how they got from an idea to the end product.