What are the pros and cons of pursuing a professorship without a post-doc?
If I have a decent number of journal publications as per my area of
  research, is pursuing a post-doc after PhD worth it before searching
  for a professorship?


In many disciplines it is practically necessary to have done one or more post-docs in order to amass the research record needed to obtain a tenure track position at a research university.    

In my discipline (applied mathematics) it is also common for a new PhD to use a mixed teaching/research post-doc or a primarily teaching visiting assistant professor position as a way to get teaching experience. 

In my experience, many students apply for both post-docs and tenure track positions.  Reasons not to apply for a more desirable tenure track position are if you don't have any realistic chance of getting the position or if you feel that you want to gain more experience through a post-doc before starting on a tenure track position (starting in a tenure track position when you aren't adequately prepared could result in your failing to get tenure.)  

Depending on your discipline, applying for a tenure track position immediately after the PhD may be extremely unlikely to get you the job.  On the other hand, if applying for a position (using a generic CV, cover letter, and research and teaching statements) takes less then a minute, then why not?  


  Do faculty search committees give more preference to candidates with a
  post-doc over those who just finished their PhD, even though the
  number and quality of journal publications are comparable?


The search committee will be looking at post-docs who had as many publications as you during their PhD and then continued to produce at that rate or faster over a couple of years as a post-doc.  In my experience, someone who took longer after the PhD to amass the same number of publications and citations would be at a relative disadvantage.  


  Does the opportunity to work with a well know professor significantly
  boost the chances of getting a faculty position?


In my opinion, yes.