Having an artificial muscle material that can also 'sense' levels of compression in a direction other than its primary flex could work very well as a 'bionic' hand. The flexing/bending caused by pressure coming in from the side would change the feedback signal to the controlling processor and good software could use that to determine the exact amount of force to apply in a given circumstance. If this is also somewhat controlled by the human mind to say, "this is an egg" or "this is a ball" then you could end up with the precision of control to be a surgeon yet strong enough to compete in Olympic weightlifting.

Of course, for a mech this might not be quite as important, but having a hand that could pick up heavy objects like boulders, trees or even disabled vehicles without causing significant damage could allow that mech to more quickly re-open a road for traffic while still retaining combat capability, or an unarmed version to be a better wreck-and-recovery vehicle than current trucks that rely on cranes and cables. I'm sure you've seen some of the 'impossible moves' type programs where difficult recoveries can take hours. Getting an overturned vehicle on its wheels more quickly means it can be hauled away more quickly, clearing the road. Your pressure-sensitive hand could help to minimize the recovery damage to the vehicles.