Hood's only virtue was showing the flag and looking intimidating. It was a good sea boat and a handsome ship, though not nearly so handsome as her predecessor Tiger which was perhaps the handsomest of all the first and second generation dreadnoughts.
Even with the refits during the 1930s, primarily to add torpedo bulges and improve anti-aircraft defense, it never approached the level of protection it would have needed had it been at Jutland!
I had read a comment from a veteran of the Graf Spee that they'd always considered the Hood to be their 'opposite number'. I guess both ships passed a lot 'showing the flag' during the inter-war years. I thought that was revealing in how the German Navy 'ranked' the panzerschiff. Says a lot about how they regarded Hood, too.
I’m not so sure about that. Hood had a lot of armor plate, its just that it had been added on hotch potch...inch here, two inches there...it all added up to a pretty strong belt, it just wasn’t in the most efficient configuration :)