Tomaz,
I like them.
When I speak of hard dodgers, I mean one that is a solid structure with a solid frame, solid-paned windows, solidly attached to the deck or incorporated into the deck design at construction. On a fibreglass boat it would normally be constructed of fibreglass (probably cored), and on a metal boat it would be steel or aluminum. With polycarbonate (Lexan) window panes.
I have only ever owned and sailed on boats with "soft" dodgers (Sunbrella fabric and flexible plastic windows spread over a collapsible stainless tube frame). Soft dodgers give good service, but when the weather gets REALLY bad you have to fold them down so they won't get destroyed by boarding seas (I've had to do that). So when you need them most, you can't use them. I'm sure the windage of the hard dodger is an issue, but in my mind it's a worthwhile trade-off.
Here's a photo of a boat we saw this past weekend with a hard dodger that I liked:
I wish more boats came equipped with hard dodgers from the builder. They are expensive to make, but so are soft dodgers and the canvas then has to be replaced at significant expense every so often. I have sketches for a hard-dodger retro-fit for our boat. It's difficult to make the proportions work on a small-mid-sized sailboat, though. Here's an article by a couple that built one for their boat:
http://www.sailnet.com/forums/showthread.php?t=37194