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**Actually he did not COMMAND anyone. He asked those who came with him... “Can anyone forbid water that these should not be baptized?”**

Oh but he did command it:

“And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord..”. Acts 10:48

**By their filling with the Holy Spirit they showed they were already saved.**

Not so fast....
**“And these signs shall follow them that believe...”**

Which follows:
“He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved,..”. Mark 16:16

Your interpretation would seem to reword that, to this:

“He that believeth, is saved, and should be baptized,..”.

**Then he had to give an account to James, back in Jerusalem as to why he went to gentiles.**

There is no mention of James. That doesn’t mean he wasn’t present. The word says that: “..they that were of the circumcision contended with him”. Acts 11:2

**“Who was I to withstand GOD?”**

By your interpretation, there was nothing to withstand. God had saved them; water baptism not necessary.

But Peter knew that he was commanded to remit sins. And the Lord’s commissions, and Acts 2:38, prove that.

By Paul’s own testimony about his conversion, he said that Ananias told him:

“And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.” Acts 22:16

The OT examples are there to see:
The flood buried a sinful world.
The Nile river was the hiding place for baby Moses, from the curse of death.
The Red Sea buried a curse on the nation of Israel.
The sea buried Jonah in the water, removing certain death for those on that ship.
The sea (and whale) buried disobedient Jonah, then releasing him to do the will of God with amazing results.
Naaman was buried in the Jordan (7 times), and the curse of death by leprocy was removed, replaced with skin of a newborn.

The Son of God was baptized to fulfill all righteousness, and then began his astounding mission.