I'll finish my thoughts on this matter with this:
MOST (but not all) of follow shots have the object ball relatively close to the cushion. Those who don't (short side shape for instance) are fairly rare and will be left out of my further discussion on the matter. The shots where no cusion is being contacted usually involve punting the ball, which as you may or may not know have HUGE issues with cling, as well as balls rolling off and you'd be better off shooting som sort of stun-run-through instead or even (gasp) draw the ball. When the ball is rolling slowly along the slate, it follows every curve and indentation in the slate as well as the cloth. Like a boat traveling slowly across wavy waters. When the ball has more speed (like with a draw or stun-run through (typically)) the ball acts like a boat hydroplaning. It sails atop the surface, straight and realatively unhindered. Since the balls will always start rolling naturally, isn't this merely an academic question? NO, because the biggest impact will be from rolling off before the object ball is contacted! Rolling off to the side 1/8 of an inch will usually not destroy a position shot, but it will certainly cause you to miss a pot if the error happens before the object ball is struck!
Lets talk about those shots where an object ball is fairly close to the cushion. Overspin is a huge problem on these shots. It's the phenomenon I illustrated earlier in the gif I shot. When you strike a ball completely full in the face, it stops dead while still spinning in place, then it picks up speed as the ball grabs the cloth and starts rolling forward reaching top speed as the ball gets to the natural roll. This phenomenon will also have an effect on balls that are cut, though the ball will not stop completely. With a short distance to travel to the cushion there is a great chance that the ball will bend back dramatically or at least not start rolling naturally (thus not getting to its top speed). Speed will be lost as a result and it will be very difficult to tell why it happened. The amount of speed lost varies with cut angle, distance and cloth slickness and is a nightmare to calculate. You will start questioning the cushions consistency before suspecting this cause of missed position probably. With slick cloth and fast cushions it's very tricky to get this under control because the bounciness of the cushion kicks the cueball out hard even if there is a trace of overspin still on it. Stun-run-throughs have a great advantage here. They have less problems with the overspin carrying all the way to the cushion. Getting overspin on a draw shot is rarely even a consideration, except on certain trickshots, but it can happen as well. But again, typically, draw shots either travel further to reach a cushion, or hit the cushion at a wider angle, thus minimizing the problem.
Generally I prefer striking the cushions at an angle, rather than straight up and down or across. I like my ball to travel slowly into and out from the cushion. I find the cushion to act more naturally at an angle and fewer "funny" things happen. Going straight up and down and hard into the cushion is very tough to control. Staying low on the cueball facilitates striking cueball at angles in many scenarios that are common, it also helps to keep the cueball speed down after contact.
Yes, it's easier for a complete beginner to roll the ball. Who cares what complete beginners do? Only instructors and the beginners themselves. Lets talk about what good players do instead.