Eh... maybe, maybe not.

Can you fit under 16 inches and still make a shooter? You can, in theory, just ignore the low bar in a breach attempt, but what if there's one really tough obstacle out there? What if an alliance member gets stuck on one of the defenses? Is it worth the reduced cycle time? (it's right in front of the secret passage) Would it inhibit the climbing mechanism?
Such is the nature of strategy.