IMO what makes or breaks a fighter is the pilots. If a pilot knows how to get the best from his bird and refuses to fight his opponents fight he can prevail. The truth of the F-4 and F-14 is they were intended to be used for fleet defense and intercept Russian bombers before they could fire missiles on the fleet. It was proven they could do more and well. Congress combined the F-4 design for USN/USMC & USAF use. The same airframe intended for different missions. Just because you can remove the trunk lid from a Caddy doesn't make it a pickup truck. The F-111 was intended to replace he F-150 as a tactical nuclear/interdiction fighter bomber hence the bomb bay. It was a very fast A-6. IMO the F-8 upgraded with a J-75 engine and some other improvements would have been one of the most Sierra Hotel fighters of all time.
Regretably the Navy turned down that upgrade of the Crusader. Another "what if"...
