A couple of further thoughts...
Jeff H has elsewhere described his system of running his lines aft, and knowing Jeff, I have no doubt it is a very slick system, and works superbly...
Having said that, however, his would likely be the FIRST on any boat I've ever sailed about which I could honestly say that... Virtually every boat I've delivered with halyards led aft really sucked in some fashion, and most definitely did not necessarily eliminate the need for ever going to the mast...
Main complaint is on boats with dodgers, you simply can't see what you're doing. In addition to the winch handling usually being cramped by its proximity to the dodger, one has to keep "backing out" from under the dodger, to see the state of the hoist, or whatever... At the mast, you can be watching everything, as it happens... From under a dodger, you can be flying blind much of the time, which of course is generally a prescription for some sort of trouble... And, don't get me started with halyards and reefing led aft on boats with full cockpit enclosures - there's good reason why they NEVER actually get sailed... (grin)
Sensing halyard tension is SO much easier done at the mast, IMHO...
For offshore, I want my dodger to be as watertight as possible. My boat has a rigid windshield, so it comes close to a hard dodger in terms of remaining relatively watertight, with only my vang control passing through the coaming... Streaming lines aft really leaves the dodger vulnerable in heavier conditions when you have water coming aft on deck, or heavy spray... Whatever openings are provided for the lines aft can admit an impressive amount of water, an can turn what would otherwise remain a relatively dry space into another that's routinely getting doused...
Finally, your main halyard can often serve an important secondary function as a dinghy hoist, or in a MOB recovery situation... Especially with the latter, where the remaining crew on deck might very well be essentially singlehanding - the ability to manage everything at the mast is a virtual necessity, and could be made far more difficult by having to do so from the more "remote" location back in the cockpit...
Given more time, I can certainly come up with other reasons why I don't care for halyards, etc led back to the cockpit... But I'll be hard pressed to think of any IN FAVOR of doing so, that override the simplicity and utility of leaving all that stuff at the mast...