>>96006330
>In a setting with Space Feudalism and backwoods colonies, mechs are cool because they let a small adventurous wealthy elite enforce their authority directly.
and once those planets develop independent economies, national identities, and population surpluses, the party's over.

And wa la, there's the setting: Emerging planetstates struggle against mech-wielding feudal lords with ancient tech, and those lords also vie against each other over symbolic noble shit.