Facts rather than banter, surely? But not relevant to the current discussion.
Clearly it can VL on to ships, and some day we will, one assumes, see SL demonstrated on typical FOL strips.
But then you say: "In terms of damage to surfaces I'd be more concerned about the effects of a max-weight STO than a slow landing at just above diversion fuel" which is an interesting thought that the Navy Facilities engineers had not anticipated. And of course with a stealth aircraft, ingesting FOD loosened by the last aircraft is not the only FOD challenge.
And obviously this is a matter of lack of operational experience, but there's something about sweeping the runway between T/O operations that appears inconsistent with the quick-reaction over-the-fight response that is the point of a FOL in the first place.
And then you say that "All surfaces have to be of sufficient quality to VL onto, even for a Harrier" which appears to be the point I was making. Are you suggesting that you may need to make a vertical recovery for some reason?