The compact fluorescents give off a more even light that appears brighter than incandescents in outside "flood" situations. The packages usually give the equivalent incandescent values. I manage a neighborhood pool and replaced all ten 150W bulbs with 17W CFLs years ago, and save us a boot load of cash since they are on so much. One of our more fussy owners complained that the lights were too bright, until I showed her that the actual lumens were less than before.
I replaced the perimeter 150W floods on my home with the CFL floods, same deal: less lumens, a lot less wattage, but visibility is notably better. The only issue with them is that they take about a minute to warm up to full output.
I have tried using them in a interior room with a wall mounted motion sensor and they did not work. I have one on a exterior photocell and it works fine. I think it depends on the individual switching device.