I own large dividend stocks in my brokerage account and they have performed very well. It is time consuming, to say the least, unless you enjoy spending your time following global news...which I do. The problem, at this point, is that everyone has jumped on the dividend train so it is difficult to find companies that are not overvalued. Although, valuations have come down over the past month. I like to own these big guys because the constant dividend stream helps me weather corrections.
My risk tolerance with my Roth is much lower so I currently contribute to a similar ETF/Index fund...VDC/VCSAX. It includes 101 strong dividend companies excluding oil, tech, financials and industrials (all the sectors currently stressing the market, so I lucked out). I have significant exposure to these sectors in my brokerage account hence VCSAX. When the market turns, you will want exposure to these beaten down sectors, so VHDYX might be a great choice! But if the market really turns, with VCSAX/VHDYX as opposed to VTSAX, you miss out on growth giants such as Apple, Alphabet, Amazon.