The issue with stability is not that it's a single stage, but rather the tall shape of the lunar Starship. A single stage lander/ascender, with all the weight o

The issue with stability is not that it's a single stage, but rather the tall shape of the lunar Starship. A single stage lander/ascender, with all the weight of the engines on the bottom, will be beneficial for stability. The mass of the engines is a significant fraction of the total because there's rather little propellant. (E.g. the Apollo ascent stage had a propellant mass ratio of exactly 1:1 (2,353kg to 4,700kg gross), despite a low ISP of only 311s.) But certainly you're right about the risk of damage on landing.