[mikeash]

It's much better to focus on having the legs work than to come up with wacky workarounds. The legs are proven, don't forget. They need debugging, but they work.

Also remember that recovery is not a requirement. This rocket started out as a pure expendable launcher. It's profitable right now even throwing everything away. If you lose half the first stages while landing, you're still way ahead. And there's no reason to think the success rate will be nearly that low once they get some more experience with it.