>>280468920
That'd have been just as bad for the same reason as what we currently have. Machu has no agency for half of the show up until the very end. Whether she accepts or rejects Shuji has to be out of her own volition. She can't just be a passenger as Shuji turns out to be an ass and leaves her. Just like she should not have been a passenger as Shuji realizes he loved her, actually.
The ending has Machu making the symbol of a choice multiple times, but without any of the substance of having to make a choice. Once when she shoots they psycommu key and once when decides to protect Lalah from Shuji. Neither of those are choices, just the natural result of things. There is no sacrifice she has to make as a result of it and there's no meaningful outcome if she decided against it.

She needed to have the final say at the end at the very least, but she doesn't. She appears to let him go when she says that he loved Lalah, but then she is just dragged along again when Shuji decides he loves her. She doesn't even get to have the agency to confess herself, she is just there to experience Shuji's love.
She even told him the moral of newtypes being strong on their own and not needing protection, so it'd have been a perfect wrap if she herself decided that she didn't need to depend on him for her place in the world like she was struggling with for most of the show, even if she is thankful for him for showing her in. There's no real meaning or thematic significance of Shuji loving her back and it just makes Machu's position weaker.

And don't get me started on Nyaan, she did nothing of relevance and none of her character arcs got resolved.

I loved Machu and would've preferred if she, Nyaan and Shuji got all the screentime that the UC references wasted.