Xairflyer, I like your explanation, seems intuitively correct. The problem is, when having a casual conversation about it at the field (or on RCU), it helps if everybody is on the same page with terminology. Lots of guys will look at a Reaction and ask, "why does it have so much DOWN thrust?" when it actually has up thrust.

This discussion reminds me about an article I read about early missiles with JATO bottles. IIRC, they would hang the missile in some kind of harness to find the exact CG location, then adjust the rocket nozzle angle to pass directly through the CG. This is an extreme case of power application at low speed, but seems related to our thrust line requirements.