Reminder that this approach that changed my mind [v5]

Looking for honest feedback, not validation.

I tried three different approaches and none of them felt quite right. The trade-offs here are not obvious to me and I keep flip-flopping. I want to write something more comprehensive about this later but starting with a quick post to gather thoughts.

I want to write something more comprehensive about this later but starting with a quick post to gather thoughts. I tried three different approaches and none of them felt quite right. For context, I am working with a pretty modest budget so high-end suggestions probably will not land.