@Goku9001
I'm not making my own narrative. If I am, I am making it as much as you when saying the Cell Juniors were holding back on Piccolo. You say what I'm arguing for is a stretch, but it's still a possibility... No more at all, imo, of a stretch than you assuming the Cell Juniors gave special treatment for Piccolo and him alone
It was clear that they'd fight in base to avoid unnecessary attraction. Firing it in a burst doesn't hurt the rule, because the rule, again, is not to give the others more chance... The rule is there to protect their own identity. If they can protect their own identity like I proposed, which is plausible because it wouldn't be a break of rules so long as they weren't seen by others as SSJ, then that's totally fine. It's a scenario that coexists with the fact Piccolo wasn't fodder to the Cell Junior, a feat which you insert your own subtext by them giving special treatment for him and him only. They didn't give special treatment for anyone. The Earthlings? They didn't, because their intention wasn't to kill them, was to make them suffer. The three whom they couldn't make suffer easily and add to Gohan's weight were shown there standing without significant injuries. We saw how warm up Perfect Cell could fell Vegeta in just 3 blows, and the Juniors are above that Cell. Piccolo wasn't felled like that, when the fight drew on for a while. Trunks reacted in shock when Goku told what Piccolo suspected as totally the case -- Piccolo was useless -- whose reaction wouldn't make sense if the answer -- Piccolo being useless -- was obvious.
I see the non-SSJ rule way easier to re-interpret, both already noticed by me, Gohan knowing Piccolo's characters and intentions, that he would just not KO him when Piccolo knows Gohan handicapped himself for a reason and that Gohan could just kick his ass otherwise... The possibility of Vegeta picking his target before any altercation with Piccolo and eliminating the tournament meaning for him --- which happened... And the possibility of them using it in a small boost like Goku did vs Trunks quick enough or Vegeta did in his sparring vs Goku using Blue quick enough. The possibility exists. There're ways to explain it, which to me personally works way better than re-writing the CGs implications. Not to mention that you'd need to ignore the kids being close to Gohan's implications, as kid Trunks wasn't above (or at least THAT above) 18 in base, which puts a cap on base Gohan's own power... Which would also lead to assume Gohan was holding back entirely vs Goten and going easy (whereas we have seen others kicking the sparring partners ass earlier in trainings or just going easy on them) or would be forced to assume the base - SSJ ratio is way smaller to the adults.
I see your side, I'm not saying you guys are devoid of implications and totally making things up for this, I know there's evidence. I just find evidences for base < Piccolo more concrete and harder to handwave. But interpretations vary, I'm not trying to impose it as a rule on anyone, I said you guys are crazy pages ago more jokingly.
But yeah, I'm comfortable with placing the kids at 18's level, Gohan at 17's level and base Goku at 16's level, with base Vegeta in-between... With Piccolo as strong as CGs SSJ Vegeta (in the Boo saga) and Kaioshin at MSSJ CGs Goku's level or so. There will be roles and strangeness whatever position one takes.