Give it up.
A ‘Rube Goldberg’ machine technically ‘works’ too.
Look at how Elon Musk landed those two boosters on earth.
They used a lot of moving parts whose weight was useless after landing, which limited useful payload.
What are you arguing about?
If they can hover, lower a payload by cable, and then disconnect the cable and accelerate away, then they could have just landed.
All those steps introduce potential issues and risks, and involves weight and effort NOT contributing to useful payload.