There are disadvantages and advantages.
In my case I will be growing macro algae varieties in several of the tanks. I would like to keep each species seperate as it will be both easier to maintain as well as harvest. Also, alot of critters don't get along too well with each other. For this, the individual tanks will be really nice. Flow and water turbulance is another concern that can be easily address with many tanks. Some corals like alot of flow while others do not. Having smaller tanks will allow me to grow species to meet their individual demands. In theory, I will be able to create niches for most of the critters I would like to keep but have been difficult or required specific placement in the past. Catching inverts and fish will be much easier in smaller tanks. Premade glass tops will be nice for jumpers. In glass tanks vs. acrylic custom tanks, cleaning the panels will be far easier and will not require as much care to avoid scratching. Alage will grow less on the glass than on acrylic. If there is a problem in one tank, closing that tank off from the system will be easy and will mean that I don't have to close off a large amount of realistate or water volume.
The disadvantages are also numerous. It is really nice to look at a larger display and see everything in one tank. Smaller tanks make this a bit harder. Plumbing so many tanks can get a bit tricky. The 10g tanks are far more fragile than larger ones. Large fish will not be able to be housed in this system. Lighting will have to be strategically placed to get a full spread. Cleaning could be a bit more difficult in some cases and a bit easier in others.
Idealy I would have customer 72"x18"x10" glass tanks with customer partitions built. I would probably do a couple in a 14" deapth for larger fish and corals. The problem comes in both how expensive this is to achieve as well as finding the craftsmen to built such a tank close to home. I would have it done in acrylic but I would rather never deal with acrylic displays again!
I hope this answers some of the questions as to why I am setting it up the way that I am. There are really alot of options and my guess is that the system will evolve over time depending on the needs of what I would like to house.
Garrett