I just read your post from beginning to end today. Imho the AT-AT Walker is the Holy Grail of MOCs. To make it motorized with scaled detail would put me in total meltdown of the mind. I'm just content with your MOC scaled. Thanks to Lego for allowing us to build whatever our imagination and parts availability limits. It has kept my interest well into my adulthood, and deserves an applause.
Props to lego for giving us the building blocks, kudos the the community for taking them to a whole other level.