I built a ride-on walking machine!

do you mostly refrain from build progress posts due to concern over backtracking parts of the design? or is the peanut gallery generally unbearable during a build?

Those fat foot pads are carrying the build, since the support polygon is 8-12" wide which lets it trot without tipping over. Have you considered a crawl gait? You'll be able to use 3 legs at a time and move the free leg faster and it might be faster/more stable overall. Get a helmet!