LJR, I was thinking exactly the same thing, reading the posts, then I read yours and went Amen!
If I was to use an analogy from another field, do we want to enhance isolated parts of the body by pumping iron, or worse, by using steroids? Having gone through my body building vanity phase, I have now realised that instead of using machines or free weights even, what one needs to do are things that enable the body to be used more effectively, working together as a whole, as it needs to do in real life. Some of the best exercises tend to be the good old bodyweight exercises, that build and strengthen the core. After all it is the core that allows for individual body systems to deploy their capabilities. I see the act of putting in a bigger piston as the equivalent of building bigger biceps!
And finally, does one want to develop body capability for just that end - you can't take it with you - or for doing the most one can with the capability, as long as possible.
This takes us back to the good enough thread discussions!!
You are not over your head, you are at the core of the subject,,,the rest are just technicalities.
I suspect I am asking for trouble by posting this,,,,,