At the end of the day guys - covering your ar*e is the nature of the beast - so that when for that inexplainable reason you find the aircraft has smacked down on the ground - the lawyers are not going to be able to point the finger at wake separation rules.
Waiting an extra 40 seconds (in this case) is it really going to screw up the on time performance for the day?
The other scenario certainly would.
Fly Safe...
WM