Had you fully read my post you would know the answer, but I’ll explain it to you.
Your body defends you from viruses all the time - you are under constant viral attack. If the invading viruses should become too numerous, you can’t keep up and you get sick - possibly opening the floodgates for other viruses.
Any defense is better than no defense, since it reduces viral load, adding to your marginal defenses. So, yes, if you reduce them by 50%, to use your number, it DOES make a difference - for anybody exposed to less than 2 times what their body could otherwise resist.
It is a continuum. Stop thinking binarily.
I disagree. The initial load might be smaller - although I doubt most masks do much here - but even very small initial viral loads can rapidly reproduce to make up for it. That is a big part of what makes some viruses more infectious.
I spent my life in the military. For biological warfare, we had gas masks and full body suits. Not N95 masks. Because it only takes a very small leak to kill you just as dead.