Of course all pairs want to be aggressive, but the point is, when for some reason you are unable to be aggressive (for example, when you are tired), can you use your defense to "hold on" for a while? My opinion is that among the current XD pairs, only Nova/Lilyana has this ability. Another example is Candra/Sigit in 2005. Because of their fabulous defense, they have the luxury to relax a bit now and then in a match.
^^Hmm..^^ ..being physically tired is part of not being aggressive; not the whole reason. Other reasons could be the opponents just play better shots and are not allowing any opportunity for their opponents chances to get comfortable at the front court/net area. And i do think any pair, not just Lilyana & Nova or Candra & Sigit, has the ability to "hold on" for a while, as it'll also depend on who their opponents are as well.
Changing the MD partner would be not only a good excuse but also really a good reason, for JJS was able to cover almost the full court for LYD and the latter only needed to take some absolute opportunities on the net, well, JSJ had pretty good tempor as well, and now playing with SBC LYD must put himself in a rather balanced situation, though IMO SBC is better than him in both front and back court, in both tempo and defense - but anyways, SBC is still too young, he is not JSJ yet, he cannot cover LYD. ZB/MJ is definitely a good pair, probably the most dominating one now, MJ is still doing some weak shots on the net, but anyways much better than doing "wrong things" like another Chinese ZhaoYunlei, who had troubled XuChen a lot. Victor should not be a key. I agree with the answer that ZB/MJ are simply better than LYD/LHJ.
