I play often on a church kit, where people really don't like attack, so at louder volumes, sticks can be too much for them. Silly, I know, but I quite often play with those double-ended stick / mallet things for tom-intensive stuff, and for crashing, also for cymbal swells.
I thought I'd try these as an in-between, and I'm delighted. I'd say the attack is slighly more stick-like than mallet-like, but significantly softer; it's much better than muffling because the drum still sings, though there is a slight loss of overtones (not always a bad thing). Also works nicely for swells. I will be getting more.