when i do whole rooms i use paper all over. when i do patches i use mesh and fastest. ill "juice" the fastset and pack the cracks full then mesh and top coat at one time. i have seen patches i did like this 20yr earlier that were just as i left them, so i know it works.
if i was going to run flats with mesh, i would back fill and mesh in with fastset. therefor it would be no advantage in knife strokes over paper taping. in other words it takes same work. your not messing with different muds either. JMO