I have never used any of these illegal tools, and I can see the merit to this kind of idea. It's certainly possible to play your job without third party extended macros (I've been doing it for years) but it is indisputibly more complicated. FFXI's macro system is sluggish - increasingly so when the frame rate drops if you have the audacity to stand near a veridical conflux, for example - and this makes chaining macros more and more unreliable. Sometimes they simply don't activate properly or completely. This is before even considering the possibility for human error and the general slowdown when chaining macros.

It's also not possible to reliably or realisitically do "pre-cast" type things with the standard macros. Ignoring illegal third party software, something like this would be adding new features to the game that would help everyone be just that little bit better and reduce the stress of macro mashing, making the game more enjoyable as a whole.

With regards to this idea itself, I have a few queries. Would it still be possible to macro equipment that you're holding as part of a "stored macro"? There is equipment that I would like to hold on to rather than store, if only because I like having at least some of that stuff (artifact-style equipment, for example) floating around. Also, how would it work for augmented gear? Perhaps that would have to remain in the player's inventory?

On the whole though, this sort of idea sounds like a great solution to multiple problems. I personally perfer using the existing macro system to trigger these stored macros as described at the end - seems more flexible and can be modified on the fly - though I suppose that runs the risk of running out of space still. Perhaps have both options available?