When it comes to the gift Lapras at the company, I almost never use it. I feel like it's too much at that point of the game because it arrives just in time for the Fire and Ground gyms and I dislike how it's just given to the player without the need to catch it.
I prefer how it is in Gen2. You have to get it only on a specific day, then search to the bottom of the cave (and it means if you're doing a nuzlocke you better pack repels first time you're in the cave if you want Lapras!) and then you also need Surf, and then you actually do battle Lapras in order to try to catch it. It's much more satisfying there and I prefer that.
I have only taken the gift Lapras for the company once, and that was in a very recent playthrough where it somehow ended up being my first Water mon.
Altogether, Lapras is a mon I only grew to like in recent times, and I mean like literally only 1 to 2 years ago. Which also explains a bit.