Remove AI code slop

Check the diff against main and remove AI-generated slop introduced in the branch.

Focus Areas

• Extra comments that are unnecessary or inconsistent with local style
• Defensive checks or try/catch blocks that are abnormal for trusted code paths
• Casts to any used only to bypass type issues
• Deeply nested code that should be simplified with early returns
• Other patterns inconsistent with the file and surrounding codebase

Guardrails

• Keep behavior unchanged unless fixing a clear bug.
• Prefer minimal, focused edits over broad rewrites.
• Keep the final summary concise (1-3 sentences).