So in theory, the mulch helps prevents soil from getting compacted due to rain driven ~force~.

If the same location has a heaping 2-3 foot of snow during the winter, that more often than not builds up and just sloooooowly thaws out in spring, the weight of this would make no indifference if I mulch or not right :-)

I've got 2 flower beds where the mulch is pretty much close to the top of the stonework. Not really looking to add more material at all....