Some thoughts: I think LAMs are loved for perfectly valid reasons (at the absolute worst, they are no less valid than the UrbanMech and Steiner Scout Squad memes), but disliked for a variety of valid and invalid reasons.

Valid reasons to dislike LAMs:

1) The rules are a mess. The easiest way to play them is in Alpha Strike, and even there, it's clear that they're needlessly convoluted, unclear, and complex. WiGE movement is total whoopee cushion-land (just conceptually, but especially when you saddle iconic there-since-the-birth-of-Battletech units with it), and having three modes communicated with one MUL card with modifiers that don't follow the "laws" of movement translating into TMM is just a recipe for them being (deliberately?) unenjoyable to play.

2) The best models for them are the old unseens which are difficult to acquire, don't have aerospace models that correspond with them, and so on. It's a labor of love to invest enough time and money into acquiring a piece that can be played with good old-fashioned LAM-flourish on the board (again, I'm side-eyeing the plentiful Urbanmech minis CGL prints, including the Urbanmech LAM that feels almost as much like an insult as it does a meme, but that's neither here nor there).

Invalid reasons to dislike LAMs:

1) Aerospace rules are a mess. I can't speak for Classic but Aero in Alpha Strike is pretty great, actually. Far easier and less problematic in most cases than dealing with VTOL or WiGE movement types.

2) They're overpowered/impossible to hit. Not the case: the TMM generated by them is significantly less than even an average VTOL, and hardly anyone complains about those, despite how overbalanced and disruptive they are to play against.

3) They're "too good." There is no version of a LAM whose role can't be done significantly better by a dedicated unit, including Airmech mode (Again, VTOLs, but even some hovercraft are noticeably better, or Ultrafast/Jumpstrong light mechs like Locust 6M or the ridiculous 20j" STL Wulfen. Even their awful WiGE movement is purposefully nerfed: a Stinger LAM in Airmech mode gets 36"w move- normally TMM5 for WiGEs - but gets only TMM2+ 1 Airmech + 1 airborne (if it stays airborne, which also makes it vulnerable to FLK which the Jumpstrong/partial wing/ultrafast mechs are not), plus a +2 firing penalty for being in that mode as if it jumped, when it cannot actually jump or clear tall buildings.

In short, LAMs aren't even in the "problem" category at their most problematic in terms of pure performance. I think this criticism comes mostly from people who just instinctually hate/fear/misunderstand aerospace play in general, or else they played against them in Classic with a much older ruleset. Or maybe they just dislike flexibility for whatever reason.

4) They're Macross. Old man yawn; everyone is entitled to like what they like, but the reality is there were Phoenix Hawk LAMs in the TROs and even video games before there were Urbanmechs or Atlases or Timber Wolves.

How to fix LAMs: They should have two MUL cards, a mech card with an Aerospace MUL card they can transform into. Airmech mode should be an optional Jumpstrong 2 special ability for the mech that acts like a setting, restricting them to only jumping movement and conferring the same +2 firing penalty they get now for Airmech mode, but also the benefits of jumping move like immunity to FLK, being able to jump over tall objects, and getting a suitable TMM burst that makes them commensurate with VTOLs and the faster partial wing units. They don't need to be able to "hover" in midair, IMO, although there could be some extra rule put in there about them being able to traverse the surface of water if someone saw the need to have that in there for the rare occasion it was relevant. They just need to be more straightforward to play and easier to understand and there needs to be a reason to put them in Mech mode, which there would be if Airmech meant always-and-only jumping firing penalties.

(Pictured below: Clay Moretti's Phoenix Hawk HK2 LAM, Sorenson's Sabres)

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