Some of this is certainly experience-based. I never see Dancing Lights used that way. Not for extended periods, at least. Light or actual lanterns or torches and so forth. The folks I play with tend to conceptualize that it would be annoying and tiresome for their character to keep casting the same thing every minute, so it's not something that would be done outside of extraordinary circumstances.
Some of this is definitely a difference in how we're conceptualizing the fiction.
I agree that the spell description is broad enough to cover "Pelor, please guide my friend here for the next minute" without specifying a particular task, but if we're dealing with a period of a minute, I think it's clear that you're doing it for a specific reason, and with a specific prompt.
There's no reasonable way I, as a Cleric, am just constantly repeating prayers for someone's generalized success. I'd be hoarse and my deity might be annoyed.

It could be "Please guide her hands with this lock", or it could be "Please guide his eyes and ears as he peeks his head over this ridge looking for enemies."
You can still move quietly in heavy armor. It's almost impossible to move silently, but there's a world of difference between being heard 10' -20' away, say walking softly, vs. 50' or 100' away, running pell-mell down the flagstoned hallway in your hard boots and mail chausses.