Most ICOs are scams and most altcoins don't have a working product or a feasible route to getting one.
That's true "most" are. But there's a possibility of stumbling on one. Or rather researching effectively and making a good guess.
Have you noticed that altcoins have suffered worst than bitcoin? Ethereum alone has dropped 85% from its all-time-high and the price continues to plummet. Shitcoins has nothing to offer because they don't have real usage and no fundamentals to back them up. They are purely for dump-and-dump scheme and you will be trap along the way. ICO's? Nah, mostly are scams, I would rather stick to bitcoin market now, price seems to be stable and few spikes to get some profit if you are flexible and knows how to day trade. If you lack experienced day trading, then just purchase them and hold for long term. Don't make things complicated for you.
Good strategy, it's less stressful, and you just need basic knowledge and don't have to be an expert. I think altcoins high on the ranking on CMC are also good. Like ETH, XRP, etc.
Most ICOs also accept them in exchange for their currencies.
For me it's only for price growth in terms of %...
I prefer low marketcap coins because as I just wrote in another thread I regret I did not get bought coins like litecoin,vertcoin or viacoin when they were very very low in 2015...
For those three coins there are a hundred you would have regretted buying.
ICOs is a gamble.
As you said, research is key.