but would we have been better off in the Falklands with a squadron of Buccs and and one of F4s?
Of course. But only if they could have been operated.
The Wx down there was grim especially the vis and flying up a line of floating flares until you get to the ship (radio silence) is not something a Bucc or F4 pilot would want to do. Over and over sensible people seem to ignore the incredible value of being able to slow right down when landing. Unless you have tried it perhaps you cannot grasp how (relatively) relaxed this makes you feel even if you literally have ony two minutes fuel. (Just think how bored you are watching somebody near you sit in a hover for two minutes).
Not wishing to flog a dead horse but one night I was doing visual circuits round Foch with a French naval aviator in a civil reg two seater (no HUD or stabs) somewhere in the Bay of Biscay. We got to landing fuel but I succumbed to the plea for one more circuit. On the downwind leg the ship vanished. They called to say they had driven into a patch of low stratus and could not see the masthead light from the deck. I asked for a radar line up and ranges every half mile and told my French mate not to let me go below 100 ft. I kept slowing down and gingerly stepping down on the VSI and altimeter until we found the ship about one length astern. After landing I bollocked said mate for not mentioning we were now below 100ft.
Honestly, ship motion and vis that would rule out an arrested landing are not of concern if you can hover.