The b-side would be that the simple having of a stick is just a holdover from when having a stick was a more practical thing. Self-defense/deterrent...
Not to hijack my own thread, but that's still an everyday practical thing for me. Just last weekend I was hiking as usual, with my wife riding alongside me on her horse. We rounded a curve in the trail and there were two Rottweiler/Chow-cross dogs standing there. I slowly approached them and they seemed friendly enough, but then one of them charged my wife's horse. I was about to turn my hiking staff into a dog-beating club, but thankfully my wife has trained her horse on how to handle it. She put her horse in offensive mode and started chasing the dog to stomp it to smithereens (a task he seems to enjoy, although he's never actually stomped one that I know of). Anyway, the dog's owner rounded the curve a few moments later and put them on their leashes where they were supposed to be the whole time, according to the rules of the state park. He got a tongue-lashing from my irate wife.

Anyway, I won't hit the trails without my stick. Its intended purpose is for balance and all the other things you describe, but "club" is definitely on the list too, should it ever come to that!