Invisibility potions come to mind. They are time limited. I haven't tested if turn based mode will halt its progression but pausing the game certainly would.
My next example may be a bug but while reading books and letters I've had neutral NPCs (like the dog, Spike, and Halsin + his crew) suddenly turn hostile and I had to kill them. I don't know what happened but I've been conditioned to hide away from NPCs whenever I want to read stuff.
Ultimately, I think it's just peace of mind. To know that the program will not do anything until I am ready to play is a good thing. If I had kids I don't think I would even give you an argument; I would just say that a pause function is mandatory. As a programmer, it bothers me that pausing isn't there because it just feels as fundamental as having a save function.
