Laptop Uses Outide of the Dorm

I'm curious to know what you guys use laptops for when they leave your desk. I'm considering a setup involving a high-performance desktop and a Surface or other Win8 RT device for any task outside of the dorm room. Would such a device be able to do everything a laptop could for everyday use? (Writing papers, web browsing, research, etc.)

Note: I am planning on an engineering major, so any other engineering majors feel free to describe what you used a laptop for.