Hood may have been two decades old but she wasn’t obsolete compared to other current ships. She was finished after the war with the lessons and improvements taken into account and actually led the way to current features. IIRC she had also been refitted, though the work on her deck armor was still to be done.
Instead of engaging the Germans she should have shadowed them. She was more than fast enough to avoid actual engagement until Bismarck was facing overwhelming odds from forces she could have easily summoned.
Agreed, but likely the commander's mind set would not let him be just a passive observer. Maybe didn't realize how good the Bismarck's gunners were.