Yes, I have used a linked list in a company setting, both in writing code and in technically leading things where understanding the behavior of linked lists vs arrays was important. But again, it's not the only criteria in these kinds of interviews IF CONDUCTED WELL - the specific experience you cite, of "developers eager to squeeze every last drop... makes code review a nightmare. For a feature that doesn't need it" is also part of what you're looking for. And you can ask a candidate who does that "hey, that seems unnecessary here and hard to undrstand, why are you doing that?"