The helping hands that I use have two crocodile clips at the end of two semi-articulated arms and they are most excellent for convenience, for example to hold wires in place while soldering, and in general for holding small things for soldering, all the way up to holding small PCBs while placing components and then soldering
The problems are
1) the articulated arms are very badly made, with no precision fittings and trying to make accurate adjustments is hard (and annoying)
2) the weighted base is not heavy enough to hold the device in place even for the most minor works, a medium size PCB makes it tip over
3) The crocodile clips are medium size, metal and have teeth - they are too weak for holding onto a medium size PCB and too strong for holding onto thin wires (say 24 AWG) as they bite into the plastic sheath
Ideally I would like a "helping" hands with 4 arms, not just 2, like the Indian deity what's her name, I will pass on the boobs but otherwise it'd be an extra bonus, with interchangeable crocodile clips, with and without teeth, with a heavy duty base (like 1kg or more), and made with precision so that the arms can be adjusted easily.