Cab impulses are a different animal than listening to an in the room amp. Think of it this way, if you're running some impulse that's modeling a SM57 off axis 6" from the cap, that's what's going to come out of your monitors if you run the Axe directly into them. When you're standing in a room, you aren't jamming out on your amp with your ear off axis 6" from the cap. It doesn't matter if you run a II, an Ultra, or a Pod.
That said, a recorded tone in a mix is going to sound a lot better than a straight impulse into your studio monitors, because it's in a mix. The other instruments fill up the space. There's a reason why people don't mic cabs with 12 mics at once when they record.
.2c