My intention was not to start a debate since I believe the points you ignored are strong enough. But allow me to defend the others I provided.
-They are not their own race but they have characteristics that, let's face it, make them -very- different from normal Hyurs.
-As for the Echo, I beg you to differ. The Echo is the ''power to break the barriers of existence'' and seems to surprise many NPCs in the universe of FF14. Not many people have it I assure you.
-The Warrior of Light is chosen by Hydaelyn AND Midgardsomr as their champion. Two primeval beings whose judgement far surpass those of the Elementals in my opinion.
-Your character's age is unknown so it can be anything.
-Your character arrives from ''somewhere'' and has travelled the land. Nothing says you weren't born in one of the major cities. It is up to the player to decide.
I fail to understand the first part of your argument as in contradicts itself and I mean no offence. Races are vital to gameplay too and classes are just as important lorewise. Go check the White Mage quest. You are literally supposed to be the only white mage in the world outside the Padjal race yet other player characters in the world are openly white mage. That alone is breaking your own lore thus making the argument invalid since it has been done countless times without any questioning.
A game or story creator has no limits to what he can do since a fantasy world can be bent and modified at will and people will accept whatever you choose to do with your world because you are its god. If the devs didn't make the Padjals playable, it's because they don't want it to be or can't due to technical reasons. Lore is never a problem unless its world changing which is not the case with the inclusion of a race like the Padjals. Look at the au ra for exemple. Their inclusion in the world is odd yet people still accept it as fact and don't question it because the devs words are law.
That is probably the only reason why the Padjals are unplayable. This ends the debate for me.