What is wrong?
1 Kids are a primary market in Japan
2 Japanese kids like mostly big robots. Commercially, how profitable in toys were Votoms, Patlabor or Escaflowne? Maybe I just got the wrong impression, but the original Gundam wasn't allowed to be less tall than 18m.
3 While Americans grew fond of mechs (which were derivative of Macross' destroids), Japanese like sleeker mechas highly anthropomorphic. Most Japanese mechas are Super Robots, and usually Super Robots have faces and cheesy features.
4 Were Yukikaze and the like really mainstream?
That's not to be said the story can't be good and someone can't think it has the best mecha ever, but business-wise I don't think it would that profitable. And if you start with too many violence it may end up getting nicher (less problem if you get violent in the later half, people already addicted will still follow the series).
FV
I still think you are wrong. All of these points (except, perhaps, for #1) are opinion taht I don't see support for.
I'm not saying that a Destroid Macross would be the most popular ever, but I don't think it would automatically fail because the mecha fail to transform. Valks are the signiture to Macross, not the point.