It really doesn't matter who chose the B-Model or for what reasons, the point still remains that the lift fan and other equipment does reduce range and payload. As a result, land-based ops MAY be compromised. It was a simple point. Apart from that, the aircraft that the RAF 'selected' all those years ago wasn't quite the same one we're seeing today.
As for landing fuel, the minima will be set according to circumstances. But it won't matter if they recover the B-Model to the deck on fumes, it still has a significantly reduced combat radius. The use of the relaxed hover mode is also dependent upon bring-back, wod, temp, etc. RVL is not the same as VL in terms of all the advantages.