So we know that Gaara, by the time of his fight with Deidara, was more versed with at least suppressing Shukaku, if not using a bit of his power. We do see an instance in that fight where he manifests the fortified Shukaku claws. But the two definitely never co-operated fully, and I would love to see Gaara calling upon all the different powers the one tail has to offer. I've seen a fair amount of people saying, " Well Shukaku is the weakest tailed beast, it makes basically no difference." However I think some fans underestimate exactly how much of a power boost pretty much ANY of the tailed beasts give.
While Shukaku definitely isn't one of the stronger beasts in terms of how much raw chakra he can pump out,he is still MADE of chakra and sand. Add this to Gaara's already plentiful chakra, and he pretty much doesn't have to worry about running out of either ever. Shukaku also endows his Jinchuriki with crazy good abilities, all of which particularly compliment Gaara. Powerful wind style, Magnet style ( Specifically that wind style technique that embeds sand particles in the enemy and uses magnet style to weigh them down- so cool!) not to mention his curse marks are useful for sealing. And that Sand cloak would be a huge buff to Gaara's Taijutsu, his only weak area. We've seen the cloak take a lot of punishment, it increases power, and those claws can be used very effectively for high speed movement. And of course we can't forget Gaara's gold sand, which could be infused into the cloak, making one of the strongest defensive jutsu we've ever seen. And of course adding a tailed beast bomb to his arsenal doesn't exactly hurt Gaara- it gives him a solid firepower move that he's lacking. And of course full Tailed beast mode is a game changer, Shukaku is a desert in and of himself, so Gaara will always have all the sand he could ask for. Thoughts?