RE: Retract question - Does it make sense?
I've never heard of pnumatics being "Tougher" than mechanicals.
To me, the only advantage of air retracts is that the hoses are flexible so you can route them anywhere as opposed to a (relatively) straight-line pushrod.
I have used both. Neither is "Easy" because both require various maintainance, but given a choice, I'll use mechanical.