>>9093358Do keep in mind that the powers for the most part were from the Bob Budiansky looking at the G1 toys and thinking what a weapon or kibble on the toy would suit that toy.
For instance, Sideswipe's powers are all based on Sunstreaker's toy (they'd wind up swapped later). That's why he gets unique powers in "a jetpack" and "arms are powerful piledrivers".
Additionally, some powers were far less exciting than the fiction would later embellish-- Hound's holograms were strictly meant to display maps, and Mirage didn't turn invisible but merely could trick his foes sensors into thinking he was in a spot he wasn't-- thus his name.