I always carry topo maps, a compas (two, actually), and my GPS. That being said, I don't really consider these my "survival equipment". I do not carry a compass in my pocket Altoids tin kit. I have a cheap Silva in my pack-based survival supplies, and a better quality Brunton that I use for normal (as opposed to survival) navigation. (But I'm lazy and tend to use the GPS for normal navigation more!)

For survival navigation, I thought the answer was mostly "stay put". But I suppose if you need to move, then my goal would be to get somewhere civilized, anywhere civilized, as opposed to getting to a specific destination with 0.72% deviation from intended. Where I hike, I think I could probably find civilization with nothing more than the sun's position and memory of maps reviewed prior to the trip. Things like "down this valley is a highway", "over that ridge is a town", "go south, but be careful when you dash across I-70". I'm almost willing to bet that anywhere I could possibly place myself here in Colorado - even in the deepest wilderness designated area - I would probably hit civilization if I could hike in a straight line for 5 miles. Any direction would do. Maintaining a straight line would be much easier with a compass, but not so much easier that I'd feel the need to carry some high dollar model in my Altoids tin kit (impossible to do anyway).

I'm certainly not disagreeing with your suggestion to have navigation equipment available. But for a pocket survival kit, not much in the way of a high dollar compas is needed in my view. I don't have a $300 knife in my Altoids tin either ... just some Exacto blades.

Of course, all my thinking would change dramatically if I routinely hiked out in the unexplored Yukon after being dropped off all by myself by a float plane bush pilot!