depends what you want,
lets take the horst link (specialized)
you could build the orginal pateneted verion and it'd be crap
The pitch and previous incarnation of the enduro were borderline identical, yet spesh admitted the pitch was a refinement in terms of suspension.
Nicolai's take on the horst link is entirely different to specialized (instant center moves foreward, not back).
giant built the NRS with the same configuration of pivots, but the vertical distance between the link and the dropout meant chain tension locked the shock out, but wouldn't have worked with more travel as the chain growth would have been too much.
Go on some test rides, (and take a shock pump!) there isn't a "right" answer.