Engines,
In addition to the ability for an increased bringback which is good, is it also the case that we are avoiding burning a sodding big hole in the deck each time we land (as might be the case from a pure Vertical Landing??).
If so, which one is the real driver for the SRVL?
Also, I don't believe that we can ever 'hand on heart' say that an SRVL is as safe as the purely VL recovery. As has been said, if you hit one wheel on that single oily patch at night, massive brakes or not, you risk 'kerbing' your shiny jet down the flight line or worse if aircraft laden with weapons are involved!
As for bolter, I think that a V22 with a fat tank sat in the circuit would be quite useful for that situation; the rest of the embarked V22 flight could have a radar/mission system and fulfil the MASC role. Not to mention a big space for returning the u/s 'Lightning' powerplants.