Why would you say that? There are a myriad of ways to cause the iPhone to go offline which do not involve actually turning the phone off if a thief wants to do that. But, with Find My iPhone, you can set up an executable command to put the device into Lost Mode or to Erase the device, and as soon as it is turned back on and connects to cellular or Wifi, the command is processed.
You also have the last location showing for 24 hours.
So, not sure why you would think it is "useless".
GB