I think this is the most coherent point - there are clearly differing interpretations of the law so it’s important to consider potential failure modes and how they might be impact things.
If you interpret the law to mean you don’t need to spend time in country while cards are pending and are wrong then you’ve either set your timeline back by however long or you’ve signed yourself up for potentially expensive litigation, which you may not win.
If you interpret the law to mean you do need to spend time in country during periods when residency permit renewal is pending then the cost of failure is purely the time and money you’ve spent on a 1-2 week vacation in Portugal, a country you’re purportedly trying to immigrate to.
one of these failure modes is so obviously more desirable than the other, at least to me, that I see no point in even considering the counter argument.