https://i.imgur.com/xscUi6d.png
The thought occurred to me that all of the toolbar options can be visible on the screen at once.
I was looking for "Always on Top". Rightly or wrongly, I thought to check Playback, Video, and View. As if that option could belong in any of those categories.
By showing the entire menu on mouseover, the user can see all possible options at once, and does not have to spend time exploring by using the mouse on the menu.
I think that is clearly an advantageous design. In the very least this view should be a default option on VLC downloads, and should not require extra plugins or skins or extensions extra. I can't imagine adding this as a view option could increase the file size of the VLC download in any noticeable way.
Edit: I just realized I recorder the wrong numbers in the pic. I put down the total image size, not the size of the red square in panel #4. I cropped it at approximately 614 x 674. Another way to say that is below 680 in both dimensions, as if 680 were a relevant number.
Edit:
https://imgur.com/a/EmXJc9Y and
https://imgur.com/a/Skt0YXJ
Edit: And
https://i.imgur.com/yI4Oxml.png