Counter drive is very important IMO. Got to have the shot.
It's just a normal topspin ball. Heavy topspin as much as a loop? Of course not. But when it's coming at you, you shouldn't worry about what spin it has on it. If they're doing what Jeff is doing in the video, it's standard topspin. Either counter the ball right back or loop it. Whichever you prefer.
Everybody has different styles to their game. My partner, who can be characterized as a bit of a over swinger, tries to loop everything and thus, his loop is better than mine from practice. But he will be the first to tell you his counter-drive isn't good because he never uses it. So he struggles in quick exchanges when you need to use this shot from time to time because you don't have enough time to do a full on loop.
I used to play short pips but now play dual inverted. I used the counter-drive all the time to play easy controlled directional shots. When I'm right up at the table and I get a topspin ball to me and I need placement (being a lefty I play angles a lot), I use this stroke to easily direct the ball either cross course or inside-out forehand. If I'm off the table in a rally, then I use the loop more there.