i just read this thread, as someone who has used 4 ways before, i think it's something every shaper should at least try.
i was reading the limitations that you are experiencing, and with other systems too...
with 4 ways, whether u have a vee or concave bottom, even tho you have pre-set angled fin tabs at 6 deg with 4 ways, u have interchangeable "inter-discs' that u can either add : 2 or 4 or 6 deg addtional splay or reduce by the same amount, just by simply rotating the disc , which is a lot cheaper than having to buy another set of fins with another angle.
i noticed you mentioned that the disc according to you is way too big , wow!!! i personally think the futures box has to be the ugliest on the planet! i'll take lokbox anyday .... those ugly rectangle Futures boxes really don't cut it with me plus their elongated boxes i feel change the flex patterns on the boards, not to mention cutting away heaps of the stringer for the thruster box....
But my entention here, is not to discredit Futures, but more to share that what i have experienced with 4 ways that i haven't had with any other system i have ever tried...
so, which is better?
i think it totally depends on your personal needs, as u mentioned, we aren't all the same , no 2 boards in my opinion are the same, so there is the constant variable....
having adjustability in your fin system just makes sense to me, i use it and have done so for a while...
don't worry, i have had customers come in and say, aaaahh but i have 3 boards with fcs , or futures... then i just ask? do u carry all 3 sets around with you all the time? with 4ways u have 3 boards in one so to speak, can make it looser for small waves and make it hold better in bigger waves, that's just the tip of the iceberg of what u can do... with 4 ways..and the 4way allen key.
then the customers ask me about distribution worldwide... wow! the same argument could be used for futures when they started... now people want to use them, so why not any other fin system.... it's not like 4 ways is NOT around, u can get it, be it not as easily maybe as fcs , but then NOBODY has the distribution level that fcs has, not even Futures, so does this mean we should all use fcs?
Where there's a will there's a way, if u need something better, just look , it's out there already, just try it... like i did....
i have never looked back.... the rest are, in my opinion, ancient and frustratingly limiting !
hope this helps...