If they had a rover that could do all the same science and collect and return all the same samples as Perseverance, well they would send that instead of Perseve

If they had a rover that could do all the same science and collect and return all the same samples as Perseverance, well they would send that instead of Perseverance. The mass budget for a return-to-earth mission is tiny. While simply scooping up some dirt and returning with it would be amazing, the potential science that could be achieved is far less than finding and collecting good samples will allow. Neil Armstrong is still revered by scientists today because he was such a good geologist - knowing what areas to investigate and samples to collect is essential. Perseverance will do the geologist work, and is set up for that purpose. Find, investigate, and collect samples that are likely to enable good science. The retrieval mission can focus on the extremely difficult job of getting them back to Earth.