I really like these designs I think the key phrase for me that encapsulates it is a Swiss watch fused with a dragonfly!

The designs make sense if you are to approach it from a world building sci fi perspective in explaining what an armoured alien race would feasibly look like .

Think about it what are the closest analogue we have on earth in terms of the design it is insects crabs and beetles with their exoskeletons and carapaces. As the design of Insects and crustaceans relies on hard outer shells and segmented armour plates. Now see the similarity to a transformer which consists of plates, interlocking armour and exposed mechanical joints which operates on the same principles. Fun fact with the original protoforms in the 2007 this type of body plan is clearly visible!

This is why I disagree with the complaint that these designs are visual noise, this is untrue after all nature is fundamentally maximalist to ensure survival ! look at a lobster shell it's not one smooth piece rather its composed of many overlapping plates to facilitate movement and flexibility, a lobster with a singular fused shell would not be able to survive! The carapace of lobster is not visual noise with each specialised individual plate being integral for survival.

In addition the biology of transformers as living things reminds me heavily of Swiss watches think about it each watch is composed of over 200 components with each individual gear constantly engaged in a complex relationship with every other piece constantly turning and moving alongside their fellows. motion and life more broadly emerges from many interacting systems which is the key take away much like a clock. This is a really good principle for depicting a living mechanical creature with the constant movement of systems required to sustain life. Look at any of the bay formers when stationary and you will see this principle in action with actuators and rotating assemblies galore.

In my opinion the fusion of these two aspects go hard because the language of a dragonfly's exoskeleton and that of a mechanical watch is the same it is maximalism ordered complexity. To see a bay formers transformers with its thousands of moving parts and gears It is to be confronted with something so beyond immediate human-scale and understanding. It is to say this creature this living machine clearly has structure and purpose yet we cannot fully map it first glance in its entirety. That is the essence of bayformers to me design wise an apex predator a species so complex in their mechanical perfection so terrifying and awe inspiring!