1) Non-combative mechs are also comfort mechs, or a decree comes down that “voluntold” them to become comfort mechs to keep moral up. (Voluntolds them as in a short of propaganda that comfort mechs are supposed to be doing it willingly, but if they are unwillingly to comfort the mechs who need it there is a lot of social backlash.) I specifically was defining comfort mech as someone who calms down more volatile mechs or mechs prone to suffering ptsd/mental shit from battle from cuddling to sex and ya’ll know me, I was gonna throw and play off a lot of social constructs and morality issues from it but use it as you will.
2) The Matrix comes with some side effects. I was playing with a number of “side effects” from making Optimus immune to heat cycles to Optimus being able to trigger heat cycles, or even giving monkey’s paw kind of abilities, ones that can be used but with intense draw-backs when he does.
3) Slave coding on Ratchet, with it attaching him to the twins. The direction I was going essentially had the twins being forced to be put in a position of power/responsibility over someone they cared for, and Ratchet ultimately trusting in them while coming to terms with his own inability to save everyone.
I also considered it attaching Ratchet to Deadlock, and that attachment being the reason Deadlock eventually flips sides and becomes Drift.
4) Flight frames get possessive over people they consider their friends, or make this sort of mini Amica groups without all the fanfair. Decepticons understand this, Autobots not so much.