Oh yeah. Splices retain the most strength vs a knot. Bowlines cut themselves apart at about 60% of the ropes working load - sometimes less.

A brummel splice is our preferred 12-strand splice - however tapering the bury is critical to integrity of the splice. The line will typically break at the end point of the bury. If you think about it, the outer strands are taking the load, and the inner strands have less tension because of the transition. If you do not taper the bury, I've seen them fail at 50% of the working load because of the abrupt transition.