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We use them but 90% of the time it's to cheat death. Since we like a pretty gloves off combat as war type of game this works out great for us. Players get an extra chance to save their character and get the thrill of a challenging game.
The NPCs having them and using them is interesting. I have not even considered it before. I guess cheating death would be lame for a BBEG but it is a trope used often in storytelling. Otherwise they might be handy in making a save that would otherwise KO them and make a good fight a lousy one. I like the idea of giving hero points to key NPCs but I cant speak to how it plays out at the table mem.
I like them and use them in all my campaigns. They're extremely handy for players when they want to try pull off something cool and can act as a bit of a safety net when the going really gets tough. I do adjust the rules a bit (no auto hero points on levelup, but no limit on them either...gain them for heroic actions and good role-play).
Highly recommend them.
My group always uses them too--it gives PCs a better chance to make that one save they just HAVE to make or avoid that critical botch in the middle of a fight.
We also use villain points, but we've had a more mixed experience with those. Sometimes they can avoid having PCs drop the BBEG with a single lucky spell in the surprise round, which is good, but it can be frustrating when your PC is counting on a save-or-suck effect operating normally. Both hero and villain points affect casters disproportionately, since in our game we almost always use them for saving throws and only rarely to avoid falling off a cliff, confirming a critical hit, etc.
Once when approaching a goblin leader, my 2nd-level wizard was gambling on his last spell of Charm Person due to goblins' poor will saves; the DM villain-pointed the saving throw, got lucky the second time, and battle broke out that resulted in a TPK! Fair play on his part, we were being a bit stupid. But this is the issue that villain points introduce.