It is the core feature of the class but it just doesn't seem to be worthwhile to use. I mean +2 to hit totally negates any defensive advantage the class might have. So the Guardian becomes as squishy as what he is trying to protect.
I can think of building a ranged skirmisher with the guardian and force the enemy to take the penalty or waste actions chasing me. That just doesn't seem to be the concept of the guardian class though.
Maybe I could build a Shove specialist and shove enemies away. That might waste some actions. I'm not seeing enough in the class to make this worth it.
Anyone have any ideas?
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I'm admittedly not really the person to talk numbers crunching or optimising with, but I kind of thought "becoming as squishy as those you protect" was sort of the point of the Taunt mechanic. If there is an enemy not already attacking you (by virtue of positioning or proximity, or perhaps an enemy getting tired of your superior AC and being tempted by your allies) you invite them to take a shot to hold their attention on you. You do not become any squishier to the other 4 who are attacking you, you, you just make sure that you're at least as appetising a target as your next ally over.
Whether this kind of "attack me" incentive feels good to use is of course another question, as well as whether the numbers are sufficient. The way I read it, a success on the Will save can close up to a 3 point gap between your and your ally's AC. Given they're probably not wearing heavy armour and likely have lower proficiency, you might already have a 3-point gaps, and your AC is only reduced to equivalent theirs in the short term (which is +1 over their flat rate).
I suppose the Guardian could instead punish distractions with a reaction strike, but that already kind of the paladin's thing, and interferes with their existing reaction to bodyguard an ally.
Anyway, I'm sure there are a lot of other ideas what the Guardian could do to make themselves the most attractive target when positioning makes hitting the others only too tempting.
Look at my experience at the PF2e tables that I played, it very rarely happens that the enemy moves to the backline and puts the spellcasters in danger. Adding this to the fact that Hampering Sweeps prevents enemies from moving away, the only situation I would see myself actually using Taunt would be if a frontline ally was in danger and needed a distraction while healing.
Outside of this scenario, I don't see much use for Taunt. Maybe to attract the attention of an enemy with a ranged attack that is putting my rear at risk, but nothing much beyond that, and honestly this is a very rare type of encounter to occur in APs and PFS.
As it is, using Taunt outside of these circumstantial situations isn't worth it, and it's better to simply hit targets and protect allies with the reaction.
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The only real guardian concept I have so far that seems to fit is to be a low attack output member of the party.
So just be that annoying tough character in the face of the enemy. When in round 2 or 3 after an ally is in trouble. Then use Taunt and Intercept Stike to protect them and spread the damage.
Denying the ability of the enemy to focus fire is important. Only problem is it seems inherently inferior to healing.
So Taunt and Intercept Strike are just occasional things not every round reactions.
Using HAMPERING SWEEPS to lock enemies down seems valueable. This might be good if the party has casters with on going area damage effects. Like say a wall of fire, and a guardian can hold enemies in it and keep them toasty.