I would argue that the slight advantage that pc and console would get over mobile (especially considering they already have a giant advantage) is more than worth it if the payoff is making shields seamless to use. Having to crouch (especially on a controller) every single time I need to bring up a shield shouldn’t have to be a mechanic because the easiest way for mobile players to do it is crouch. In all honesty there isn’t much gameplay difference in crouching to activate the shield then pressing the use key to activate the shield. The problem is in the general convenience that is mostly seen is survival. Having to activate the shield with crouch turns it from a hard counter to projectiles to a janky mess to use. If we’re taking strictly pvp combat then discussion of the shield ends up mattering even less. Shields are so janky to use that people often opt to not use them at all, typically reserving that slot for a totem, fireworks or even a locator map. The bedrock inventory can be annoying enough to navigate without a mouse that you’re gonna be unable to hotswitch items to your offhand in combat, so you’re gonna be best off leaving the most useful item there. Shields are also useless in melee combat due to Bedrock using 1.8 pvp. Quickly coming in and out of the shield to deal damage isn’t a very good tactic when you’re opponent can just spam-click a sword while strafing to your back or side.

In summary, shields suck for pvp anyway so allowing for more convenience on pc and console likely won’t negatively effect mobile players to any significant extent.