I haven't bothered with the salary bit for years, too much faffing around if I'm honest. The accountant still does the PAYE stuff for it and sends me a payslip.
As for the benefits and drawbacks when it hits the fan like now. Well unless you're making mistakes in planning or spending it still works out well in your favour to be a VAT reg Ltd co in big ways and small ways. Big ways are the cumulative tax savings which 'should' be way more in the last 12 months than you would get as 80% of 3 months worth of a £30k salary. Small ways are things like the instant 20% reduction in the cost of a laptop for example.
Where it gets away from people however they get their money is when they start to think it will always be like it is at that moment. It won't, it can all be taken away in an instant for a variety of reasons. Accept that, plan accordingly and you'll be OK for at least a few months.
I know people who have fcuk all invested or in the bank. Yet they have a new van (usually leased) new car, two or three foreign holidays a year, multiple TV's and tech gadgets, eye watering mortgages/rent, expensive wardrobe etc etc. All 'affordable' on a monthly basis when everything's going along nicely.As soon as that changes ........