For years, we've created templates with specific paragraph styles (e.g., Table Text, Table Column Heading, Table Row Heading, Table Subheading, etc.). So, the table itself would be completely cleared of formatting, and then people would apply the specific paragraph styles where needed.

However, I'm finding that using table styles is much more user-friendly for a lot of people and it makes it easier to preserve formatting. I constantly remind people to not copy/paste in things with formatting because it messes up the styles, but it's rare that people actually follow through. So, instead of me having to go through, clear everything, apply individual styles, etc., or trying to instruct someone how to do so when they're in a hurry, we can easily clear the whole table and apply the table style. Table Bullet and Table Number paragraph styles are the only ones I still keep in the Styles pane.

I'm not sure what version of Word you use, but you should definitely give them another shot! They're a bit of a pain in the butt to set up initially since you have to modify the default settings of the document to match; but, once everything is set up, they're a breeze to use!