I do both, rent an ex and have a smaller backhoe. They really fill different roles for me. An Ex is an amazing machine, if I have to rip out stumps, cut a long new trail, really want to regrade a lot of ground. I'm getting someone to bring me an ex. Just take too long, too much wear on the TLB. But a 10-14K mini-ex has a lot of limitations too! They are slow, takes an hour to move from one side of my property to the other. They are devastating to the ground, planting trees in the front yard with an ex? No thank you, I like have lawn. They are single purpose, yesterday I was spreading crush and run with my small TLB, use it to flip my compost pile, move mulch around.. Tons of stuff, about which maybe 1/2 the hours are backhoe work. Now, if you're looking to dig in a footing? No thanks, someone bring me an excavator please, thank you very much. But I don't do much of that work, and I do a TON of "hunny, I got 3 trees today, can you help me plant them" work. A small TLB is the right tool for that job, frankly, you give me a stable of mini-ex's, full size construction backhoes, and a dragline, I'm still going to get the keys for the small TLB to do that job rather than any of the bigger or more special purpose equipment.
They exist (compact TLBs) for a reason, and it's not just for Harry homeowner to have the coolest toy on the block. Shoot, one more example, drove by my neighbors a month ago, he was out digging out a mailbox that got hit by a car. Which, in red clay, is a loveless job. Told him to put the shovel down and I'd be right over with the small TLB. And 20 minutes later, we had it done. But if I had a mini-ex? Ugh.. It's about 1/2 a mile to his place from mine, across lots of ground I'd prefer not to have tore up with tracks. Yes, I would have done it, and yes, it would have dug out the mailbox in one scoop (vs the 5 or 6 it took with my TLB), but.. Not the right tool for the job. And that's the point I'm trying to make, there are a lot of jobs around the house where a small TLB IS the right tool.