agreed, john.
the whole reason i find vawts interesting is that there is less data about them already. hawts have benefitted from all the prop and wing airfoil research that we have been doing for the last hundred+ years, but they are basically an exercise in details and manufacture.
so, i have no problem playing with silly ideas, but i dont preface the description of my inventions with 'this will change the world'. instead i choose to say, 'this is silly, but it works'
just learn to ignore the marketing drivel, and get a kick out of the device.
now, all that said, the biggest (only?) advantage a vawt has over a hawt, is simplicity since they dont have to furl or have a tail there is only one moving part. but to get them into the same eff% as a hawt, most designs add those very things, so your comments likely apply to all vawts.
allan