Right now, torches are pretty much useless. They give off a lot of light, and they're only advantage is that they can be crafted with minimal materials. But with the frequency that you're able to find glow sticks and the sheer amount of other sources of light, it's pretty much useless. It would however be much more useful if you could swing the torch and keep wolves back. I think this would be an interesting mechanic because on one hand the wolves are still going to try to circle you and attack you, but it would be nice if they feared the fire like in real life. Also you would still have to worry about using the torch and giving away your position to other nearby players.