As far as short circuit protection, I believe a lot of battery banks already have that built in? Also, how about I use a fuse in my design?
The battery packs should have short circuit protection which protects the battery pack itself (from damaging its output voltage regulator etc.). But they may be able to happily provide currents which can damage components on your circuit in case of a malfunction or misconnection.
Adding a fuse to your circuit is certainly a good idea. But a fuse will not limit current as precisely and quickly as a lab power supply; you might still end up with some component mleting quicker than the fuse.
In any case, the risk of accidental damage to the circuit from shorts etc. exists mainy during the "tinkering" phase, while you build, test, and modify the circuit. That's when lab power supplies are typically used. Once you have finalized you design, put everything together in a box, and deployed it for others to use, this is not really a concern.