I was just thinking about bands that replaced their drum machine with either session drummers or a permanent band member...were they simply better with a drum machine or was it a case of a band losing creative juice so they started adding more members (the way a dying sitcom adds kids, cousins, babies, long-lost relatives, kooky teens, etc.)? Here's some of the bands that I think sounded better with a drum machine.
They Might Be Giants
Cocteau Twins
Jesus and Mary Chain (I guess they always had live drummers though)
Pop Will Eat Itself
Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine
Depeche Mode