[wyqydsyq]

> I find them useful as I write code because they allow me to state my intention (in plain English), translate it to code, then compare statements and see how well I’ve achieved my goal.

IMO this is exactly what unit tests should be used for. Replace these comments with unit tests and you're doing TDD. The practical difference is by stating your intention as unit tests, you not only verify your initial implementation is correct but also that any future changes remain correct.

[rerx]

If you are not careful, you end up with 1000s of tests that are tightly coupled to your implementation, testing internal details of your systems, not their behavior. They become a massive burden if you decide to refactor a system and change its internal implementation.

Do test-driven development, but consider deleting these internal tests once you have scoped out how your initial implementation should work.