Ultimately, Ves issued a verdict that fell in line with Ketis' demands.
This decision might end up backfiring on the Larkinson Clan, but that was a risk that he accepted.
Just as Ketis had said, it was all about trust. When Ves thought about how much his expert pilots had grown and how earnestly they fought on behalf of his clan, he felt they earned the right to make decisions on how their mechs should be configured.
That didn't mean that mech designers were forbidden from providing their own input, but the overall wishes of the expert pilot should be respected first.
After talking to Ketis and Dulo, it became clear that there may be a possibility for the Riot to follow a more varied development strategy than the First Sword. This was because they judged that Venerable Orfan should be a lot more open to equipping her expert mech with additional weapon systems.