If memory serves correctly, there was a time when Greasemonkey was the only reasonable option for sorting through a DK search query. That was maybe a few years ago. DK search features have since improved to the point where I don't even bother with Greasemonkey anymore.
As far as students in EE, I've noticed that there's a reasonable period of acclimation necessary for those new to DK's system. The students I've spoken to complained that DK's system is a chaotic mess of information overload, and they tend to prefer distributors like Mouser or Arrow for their more user friendly interface even if certain components might cost a bit more. But I've also noticed that the lab rats who tinker a bit more than the usual semester project tend to prefer DK. I figured this has a lot to do with a few noted observations:
1) they've established their design goals beforehand (i.e. not casually browsing for design ideas),
2) they know the proper nomenclature of the component they're looking, and
3) they have a general idea of DK's product index layout and don't hesitate to use Ctrl-F if necessary.
From personal experience, I don't necessarily prefer Mouser's layout because I feel it's an unoptimized use of limited screen space; in contrast, I don't like Future's layout because their parametric search is a bag of suckass. Of course, Findchips takes a lot of the out of searching for components, but the caveat is you have to know exact part numbers, which makes discovering suitable substitutes difficult; Octopart remedies this a bit but isn't as well organized IMO.
Just me 2 cents on the subject. Best of luck on your JS musings.