Of course! All the American percussive death metal bands used breakdowns of one form or another. Those of bands such as Suffocation and newer Immolation even sound somewhat like the braindead "hardcore" bands of the late 90s (read Dillinger Escape Plan, Himsa, etc.), but with one simple difference; they don't suck! In other words, despite a similar overblown rhythmic drive, good breakdowns are well composed and have a reason for existing within a particularl composition.
It sounds like what you're really asking is, "Are metalcore / nu-hardcore bands ever acceptible?" Well, I grew up in that late 90s hardcore scene, so honestly I think I'm a little nostalgicly biased towards it. The one album from that scene that's probably worth checking out, objectively speaking, is Botch's "We Are the Romans." Although the composition on those songs is much sloppier than with a good metal band, I would argue that the music exists for a purpose, and succeeds at creating atmosphere. Certainly keeps me interested. Of course, with a couple exceptions, the "breakdowns" on that album are hardly recognizable as such, since it's generally very polyrhythmic music.
I'm pretty sure I didn't answer your intended question...