To me, the advantage of Maintenence Plans is that they're easy - especially for people who need to get maintenance tasks done but don't know how to write T-SQL (think accidental DBAs, etc.). They're a good tool and I'm glad MS provides them.

That being said, I prefer scripting out my backups in plain old T-SQL. Long ago when MPs first came out I remember them being very limited, and you couldn't do things like split a backup across multiple files. These features were added over time, but I still feel that I get more flexibility out of just scripting things out. It's also a great way to learn and understand the backup syntax!

Another great option is Ola Hallengren's SQL Server Maintenance Solution[/url], which is totally free and will create stored procedures that perform backups, integrity checks and index maintenance. They do a great job and are very easy to configure through parameters. If you're not really wanting to write your own T-SQL but aren't thrilled with MPs, this is an excellent way to go.

Hope this helps!

Bob