Bleed can be reduced with Telepathic Counter, or redirected to benefit the original bleedee with Telepathic Misdirection or Deflection. Maneuvers can be negated with Fake Out, or if there are too many, you can use a gun instead. This is a very clever system, as it maximizes defense flexibility. Permanent cards are an important part of flexibility. I believe that it's a bad idea, generally, to rely on permanents as a basis of your strategy.
Permanents are slow to get out, and often vulnerable to intercept.
However, permanents can provide a boost for the circumstances where you need it. If you're playing a Gangrel Claw deck against a mad maneuverer, a few guns are a big help. If you don't need them, you have only a few cards to dispose of. 20 Form of the Ghost could catch the maneuverer too, but if you fight somebody without maneuver, they'll jam your hand. Somewhat surprisingly, the best resource to exhaust is often one of particular cards.