I find these oddly pleasing to look at. Maybe I'm just a sucker for rounded corners...

Thank you so much for this. I definitely have a better idea of what to look for. I see exactly what you mean regarding the linkage. I have yet to see that system for limiting the radial movement. I love the elegant simplicity. I haven't had any problems with my current chain, but I will definitely incorporate these elements into the next chain I print.

Great points. I appreciate the critique. Can you recommend a design that ameliorates the issues you mentioned?

You might be interested in a cable cable chain like this:

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5251511

I printed one for my Ender 3 v2, and it works flawlessly for mitigating the issues you described.