As someone in a casual guild, I like that I can join a Pickup Raid and at least clear trash and 1-2 names. It gives me something to shoot for, but keeps the loot table on the harder names solely for those in guilds organized to clear them.
So far, for example, every time I"ve gone in with a pickup raid, we wiped horribly to the Master. I don't see how a pickup raid can kill this mob. At least the one's I've been in 
But we can still do trash and hope for drops, and the first named.
So for someone like me who is out of things to collect from the 4 ROK instances, running the entrance to SOH is something new and fun to do. There are maybe 3 powerful items on the loot table that I want for what I am able to do, so its nice to have even a shot at 3 really nice items above and beyond the only fabled thing I'm allowed to loot in ROK - Gift to the Queen.
((Please note that there would typically be an uproar if I as a templar wanted to roll on Preator's Guard or even Armguard of the Farseer...))