There would in theory by more than one type of torch wouldn't there? If they're talking about having 21000 models of rocket launchers with literally millions of combinations of rocket launcher abilities, you think that there would be more than one type of torch. Perhaps some scare some monsters, some attract others, some dazzle another type, some just tend to piss things off. It might be fun to actively run around annoying monsters. Afterall, the game isn't about XP from killing, it's about resource collection. It depends on just how much a dead body is worth compared to some nice ore. Or how much fun it is shining a torch at your "friend's" head so that they get clustered by death-moths. Or as said, save you time actually running to creatures, make them come to you. Then pull out another torch and dazzle them. Then fill them full of holes.
The whole different torch thing would work well with stealth (and the perception/detection of such). Some monsters wouldn't be able to even see your IR torch, whilst to some it would be like a lighthouse. An IR torch might break some types of stealth but not others. Some things might only be stealthed at night, or during the day. Using a UV torch during the day might be one of the few ways of seeing the bee population that's native to a few worlds. It'd be a bugger to balance, but you could always fall back on waving a weapon about randomly or burst firing somewhere near their nests if you don't happen to own a UV torch yet.
How much knowledge do you get from orbit? Does it cost you a fair bit to aquire that knowledge? It's not really a problem if you don't know the death-moth-gank-squad is on that planet. You don't know half the things that are on any planet. So either switch off your torch, pull out a different sort of torch, get the hell out of there, or just accept the fluttery death coming your way. You won't know that the laser and rocket immune Toads'o'doom are on the next planet either.