Agree with paper ballots, but think hammer/scorecard were a factor, in this case a feint.
I think the machines were programmed to weigh the ballots, based on pre-election polling, and that paper ballots were necessary to make the real ballot count match the machine calculation. In line with what you say.
Go with a .8 / 1.2 weight scale, based on polling before the election saying that was necessary to shave out a Biden win. 100 hundred Trump votes scanned, 100 Biden votes scanned. USB sticks program the machines to print out a tally of 120 votes for Biden and 80 for Trump.
That means 20 Trump ballots have to be "lost" and 20 Biden ballots have to be added to the pile.
After FL, dems realized .8 / 1.2 wasn't going to be enough and they would have to scan, multiple times, more Biden ballots. Final tallies could be adjusted with software later, but they needed paper ballots scanned, again, as you say.
I think Hammer/Scorecard comes into play because dems were trying to avoid Hammer/Scorecard being used against them again, as it was in 2016, according to Gen. McInerney, who said it was.
That meant voting machine company admins needed WAN side router access, or, essentially, total control of the state's networks.
The elephant dems are trying to hide in the closet is the one that is shouting that some state's gave their networks over to voting machine companies, IMO.
Pissing contest going on in AZ wrt to coughing up the routers is inside comms. No one needs the routers because all the info is in the good guys' hands. High level flips have been dishing and issues chosen to be made public are ones in which info from the flips is added, so bad guys know the shoe is about to drop.
If you're a high level state IP tech who was warned to STFU when the gov gave the keys to the network to a voting machine company you're probably shitting brick right now and looking up the number you need to call to get a deal cut.