REST isn't a technology, it's an architectural style. Regarding its benefits, they are all well specified in Fielding's thesis. REST is composed of a few constraints, and abiding by each one gives you certain benefits.
That said, I agree with you vis-à-vis the need to avoid blinders. In my opinion, there's nothing wrong with using RPC if that's the most adequate solution. What bothers me are all those new RPC-over-HTTP which people insist on calling RESTful.