Exactly so. Whose to say what cam will be a loss? There's only two places that can tell. The dyno and the drag strip. Everything else is mere opinion, because every single engine is different. What may "lose" 5 HP in one, may gain 10 in another.
That's why I say don't sweat it. Unless you have a dyno in your shop, or a drag strip in your back yard, it really doesn't matter.