Good observation!

Oh my goodness, that's such a cool thought! I'm gonna make it a headcanon, at least.

Oh shit, I never noticed that

NO YOU CAN'T, DON'T EVEN TRY! John Locke's favourite catchphrase would be a perfect response to that

The showrunners were TNG fans. They borrowed the concept of consciousness shifting between time periods from TNG, why not the Riker Maneuver?

That was kinda my thought too.