I can see where you’re coming from, but keep in mind that the Zeong (used at the tail end of the war) operated under Newtype brain waves. This was a hardwired connection between the machine controls and operator, which to me feels a lot more realistic for the time than sorta just thinking about movement while piloting normally.
Raise Your Flag and Daybreak’s Bell are two masterpieces, and I love the second GBF opening.
except for the fact that they made multiple mobile suits before the war ended that all used more complicated technology than just hardwiring a nervous system to a robot