Home Fleet commanders wanted at least one of the sisters available even after Bismarck sank because Tirpitz or another German heavy ship might still sortie. Nelson and Rodney lacked the speed to conduct the pursuit alone, but once another force slowed the target their 16-inch guns could finish the engagement. Their armour made a direct battle costly enough that an opponent such as Yamato might win yet suffer damage that exposed it to follow-on attacks. Italian commanders likewise had little reason to accept a gunfight with both ships when aircraft or submarines offered safer ways to attack them. The pair therefore acted as fleet insurance: other units found and constrained the enemy, while the slow battleships supplied an enduring concentration of firepower and protection.
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Why Nelson and Rodney remained fleet insurance in World War II
Nelson and Rodney could not chase every faster opponent, but their guns and concentrated protection made them valuable finishers against a slowed German capital ship and dangerous opponents in the Mediterranean.