The best replacement for shutdown is hibernate.

The best alternatives to shutdown are rated as following:
★★★★★  hibernate
★★★★  sleep
★★★  restart
★★★  shutdown
★★★  shut down
★★★  close
★★  sleep mac
★★  standby
★★  halt
★  power off
★  sleep macbook pro
★  reboot
★  sleep imac
★  close socket
★  sleep laptop
★  sleep macbook air
★  init 0
★  standby ps4
★  turn off
  poweroff
  sleep ssd
  sleep windows 7
  hibernate laptop
  psshutdown
  sleep mac mini
  reboot linux
  hibernation
  debt ceiling
  debt limit
  sleep macbook pro retina
  sleep mode
  shutdown immediate
  restart windows
  init

Your alternative for shutdown is not listed? Suggest!
Speaking about shutdown, one probably shouldn't forget about updates.

Other search terms related to shutdown and their ratings are:
★★★★★ updates
★★★★★ installing updates windows 7
★★★ installing updates
★★★ power off
★ poweroff
You have in mind a companion for shutdown and it is not yet here? Propose!



Google Trends

Scale is based on the average worldwide traffic of shutdown in all years. Click on graph for more.
shutdown
hibernate
sleep