Yes, Sakonda’s granulator is a standard, and many musicians love its sound. It all depends on what you want to achieve, that’s why there is not just one granulator. When you say "generate grains via cellular automata", it sounds like the one in the Max examples might be the way to go. Indeed, especially if you change the "metro" generating the grains, you have the control of generating just one grain, when you desire it. With Nobuyasu’s granulation engine, 8 (or 4) grains overlap continually. It gives a beautiful sound, but you can’t separate the grains easily.