The reason that mechanical disc brakes are horrible is because they often are cheap and bottom of the line. You could use TRP Spyre which have a different reput

The reason that mechanical disc brakes are horrible is because they often are cheap and bottom of the line. You could use TRP Spyre which have a different reputation. It still won't be as light on the hand as hydraulic, but there may be the other advantages so there is a reasonable compromise possible. And with bicycles, everything is a compromise :)