Shino is like the ace in the hole. When he does get involved in any fight/battle/etc., he puts the smack down on whomever he's up against. Can't have him active in the story too much, or he'd put everyone to shame.
PS Talk no Jutsu--love the Danzo "footage" XD
A friend of mine referred to it as "Like Dragon Ball Z, but for people who think" (his comment, not mine) and then talked me into watching it through the end of the Wave Country arc. That's when I was more or less hooked.
However, it is probably relevant to say that I have only been watching the (subbed) anime and am only really getting around to reading the manga right now (after, for the third or fourth time, meandering into a spoiler thread elsewhere totally knowing I was going to be pissed at myself...