You say that as if its a universal truth - in some people's mind NEED is the option for companions. Look at this thread - one guy already made the case that improving his companion is improving his character - and frankly that's a valid point. I am of the school that your char comes first and companions have less priority, but again this is a debatable point.
Operations will be handled by guilds and indeed I am in an Ops guild, but that does not mean people like me don't want this option, even when I am with all guildies. Sure we can sort it our amongst each other, but adding this feature would just make it so much faster and efficient. Not to mention that even the most hardcore Ops player will still pug at times.