Every connector is a point of failure so I prefer to minimise them as much as possible.
That's false if reducing the number of connectors increases the load on each one, which is exactly
what you are proposing.
What you're saying is nonsense. I never said it increased the load but every connection is a point where 2 metal surfaces meet. This is inevitably a weak point compared to a continuous cable. An imperfect mating or a bit of corrosion can cause localised resistance leading to rapid overheating and a melted connector. Over the past 3 years I have seen it happen 3 times, all within the first 2 years I have learnt the hard way to reduced connections as much as possible and have seen a corresponding improvement in reliability.
Nonsense is thinking that using one connection on a GPU designed for 2 is is better because it uses fewer connectors.
You need to learn the difference between serial and parallel. More connectors in parallel is a good thing, that's why they have
multiple redundant pins.
If you're worried about having problems, stop trying to cheat.