Some of my petmancers can tank the normal/epic ones, but I haven't bothered trying to take a direct hit from the Legendary one since it's a lot more...
That's only if you're looking for special items like "Hallowed" headgear. If you're a regular player then that means you'll be picking up and selling...
I use Briar Ward constantly. I don't have a problem dealing with its CD thanks to level 4-5 Refresh. It helps that since I generally save it for boss...