Okay, thanks much for the clarification.
There’s a lot of “this is my understanding of..”, or “as I understand it..”, and so forth, yet they don’t compare, like apples and oranges. :)
So WHO do you believe Jesus is? I get the impression you don't want to directly answer that question. Jesus said we would die in our sins if we do not believe He is "I AM". Almighty God is I AM. Ergo...Jesus IS God with us (see Isaiah 7:14).
You disparage the word "Trinity" and call it a "hot mess" but the word comes from the Latin: Trinitas, lit. 'triad', from trinus, "threefold". There is substantial Scriptural evidence that points to the threefold nature of Almighty God. The Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God as Scripture tells us. Yet, we don't worship three Gods because God is ONE - besides Him there is no other god. Regardless of what you think of the creeds and man's attempts to succinctly describe what our faith believes, you must believe or reject it. So, which is it? It's not apples and oranges.