Hehe we're complete opposites in our playstyles it seems. :D

Back when I played MMOs (I haven't for years), I kept to guild vs guild PvP, so having a tanky build and not dying was very important. Being tanky allows you to be useful even when you're not actively attacking, for example, if you've been stunned or CC'ed - you can't do anything, so might as well stay alive and take as many hits as you can. Every enemy that's attacking you is one less enemy that's attacking someone else in your guild/party. Staying alive is important for group morale, if your guildmates are watching each other dying off like flies, they're going to very quickly lose their will to fight. Likewise, being difficult to kill damages the enemy's morale as they start feeling helpless when their attacks [seem to] do nothing.

Then again, I may be in the minority since I have an "Art of War" mindset when it comes to PvP. You know, "act strong when you are weak, act weak when you are strong" kind of thinking.