In SW:TOR I often find a lot of mobs in my way that doesnt award me any bonus xp, and I hate to waste time killing them.
We all know, that you get dismounted when a mob hits you.
If you use a shield or an absorp ability (Sith Inquisither's Static Barrier) before crossing the mobs, all the damage will be absorped, and you wont be dismounted.
This is probably just a clever use of gamemechanics, but it DID save me a lot of time especially at level 35+ where mobs aren't oneshot-able