Well true you may not NEED to bring strong to be Soul King, but at the same time, to be the uncontested ruler of the Royal Guard, each one of whom is as strong as the rest of the captains put together... he must be pretty badass, otherwise why would they follow him?
Aye Ukitake does seem like a defensive/support fighter, I think that's why him and Shunsui are such a good combo, because Shunsui seems quite Offensive, seeing as most of his high damage abilities can be used against him, he will need some kind of backup, so maybe Ukitake tanks for him, while Shunsui rapes faces with his insane powers
Shunsui Vs Starrk is my favourite fight of the whole of bleach so far! I actually still have that episode on my computer, it's the only one I saved
I'm guessing seeing as how he's now the Captain Commander, they'll save is Bankai till rriigghhtt at the end
Aye you just know Ukitake's Bankai is going to be awesome! He's probably the Bankai I want to see most, after Shunsui's