Well, jokes aside, it's actually quite relevant. If time is running out and the battle is easy, speeding up the animation is very helpful.
I remember, back in the days of TE/VT, I asked the developers to add this feature for blitz games, but they didn't get around to it.
It would also be useful to have a hotkey to switch between animation speed in battle and movement speed of the horse on the map. Going into the menu often means losing precious seconds.
I'm against it; the sight of instant teleportations spoils my enjoyment of the game! So I hope they don't do it. And if it's really too much, there's a Q button in battle that makes everything instant.

