sorry, but if you are a passenger, you are NOT allowed to manipulate the controls!
I asked "where's the rule", your assertion isn't a rule.
And, since you cannot add that time to your log book, how are you to prove you did 3 landings?
You can write what you like in your log book, and in particular you can record the three landings and use the record as evidence.
It's true that you can't count the
time towards anything useful, but you don't want to - you just want to count the
landings.