Before I start, I'll qualify that I almost finished my PhD in Kinesiology before returning to the real world (the ivory tower was giving me a nose bleed). I've helped in research papers that looked at improving blood flow from the extremities to the heart. They were either G-suits or specialized pants that actually provided a moving pressure ring up the leg to improve blood flow.
Regardless of the claims made by the manufacturer, JB is actually the closest to the truth from my perspective. Compression garments protect against blood pooling by compressing the veins, which are more superficial and have thinner walls than the deeper arteries. Also, arterial (systolic) blood pressure is always higher than venous (diastolic) blood pressure, so any compression at the skin surface will first shut down venous return before it affects the arterial supply to the muscle. This should theoretically INCREASE lactic acid concentration in the muscles. But whether retail compression garments are able to produce enough pressure to affect any blood flow is still undetermined.
Still, if people claim that they feel an effect it could be for a number of reasons. Regardless of the research, if something creates a perceived performance improvement, then that is real world significance and to hell with statistics.
Basically, we can continue debating mechanism forever on this topic, but my opinion is you should keep using whatever you feel works. Using controversial means to increase performance is nothing new to sports training and performance, and by the time the research community has caught up to the real world, people have either embraced it as fact or kicked it to the curb.
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