I love the look of Pin Oak leaves on the trees in winter. It is as though they're saying, "What's the rush? Spring foliage won't be coming until, well, spring." So, in the process they provide us with interesting texture and color on the horizon.
I have a tree nursery. I deliver and plant balled and burlapped trees. I must say, I rarely get a request for a Red Oak or Pin Oak, the assumption being that they are Oaks, and thereby slow growing. But this is not the case in the Red Oak family. They grow as fast as anything. The White Oaks, on the other hand, grow slowly. But they live up to 200 years and more. Their cragginess, for lack of a better word, gives them a beauty all their own. They could be regarded as an ornamental tree, justifying their existence for sheer beauty alone (and not just for their utility in providing shade).