Going through those:
- Cooking & laundry timers - Yes. Works well
- Reminders (remind me to do X when I get home) - I find Apple geofenced alerts to be unreliable.
- Directions (Take me to the nearest X, take me home, etc) - Pretty good, search isn't as good as Google, but good enough these days.
- Checking hours of business (what time does X close today) - Never tried, doubt it would work.
- Initiating phone calls (Call X) - Yes - Works well
- Checking weather (is it going to snow today? How cold is it right now?) - Yes, works well
- Conversions (what's X ounces to ml) - Never tried. Just tried now - works OK
- Quick stock checks (what's X stock price) - As above works OK, says whether there has been a fall or rise.
- Playing music around the house (play X on the kitchen speakers)- works very well.