Is there any benefit to speed in large ships?

Admiral Fisher would say, "Speed is armor". Without thinking about it, the natural reaction would be to say that the more speed the better. John Paul Jones didn't say "Give me a slow ship for I intend to go in harm's way". The lessons of World War II in the Pacific showed that there was still a need for ships that could make 34 to 35 knots. The requirement was caused by the need for escorts to "run" with the fast carriers. The Japanese had retained the requirement for 35 knots through the 1920's and 1930's. Their first examples were the 5,500 ton light cruisers. All of the 8in gun cruisers also aspired to 35 knots, although as the ships became heavier, they lost the ability to make that sort of speed. The United States had made a conscious decision in the 1920's to abandon high speed, after heading that direction in the 1916 to 1921 time frame. The only ships from that period to complete were the Omaha class light cruisers and the Lexington and Saratoga. They ultimately were not as fast as originally planned. They originally were all 35 knot ships. The change in direction was because of the idea that aviation obviated the need for fast ships. If anything, in the modern era, the situation has gotten even "worse" in the sense that the new ships we building and planning are slow by early 20th Century standards.