windows installer - vbs vs bat startup script

working through a user issue on startup trouble that is tied to an (as yet
unsolved) inability to execute vbs scripts[1][2], a comment was made "why
do you need VBS for something as simple as setting path and environment
variables and starting a program? A simple batch script will do it and is
guaranteed to work. If you would like to avoid a black CMD window see this
post [3]"

I came across bug #41074 [4] that i think resulted in shifting from a .bat
to .vbs file and seems to identify (1) no terminal window hanging around
while the gui is up, (2) starting cli version in a way that still let you
produce qt graphics, (3) producing the first time welcome dialog if
needed.  i seem to recall there being something else but it escapes me, I
don't know if it made any other setup steps easier.

thanks to the history of windoze security issues, using a vbs may be
problematic for some users, with the usual result of "octave doesn't
start". Were there other reasons for shifting to the .vbs that I'm missing
above? Is there a workaround for someone who just can't run a vbs file for
some reason?  I hate to suggest reverting to the 'include .bat as a backup'
model, but is that the only method that would work for them?

[1]
https://octave.discourse.group/t/octave-cli-and-gui-does-not-open-from-desktop-shortcut-after-installation-on-ms-windows-10/112
[2]
https://superuser.com/questions/1579906/vbs-script-execution-blocked-on-windows-10
[3]
https://superuser.com/questions/62525/run-a-batch-file-in-a-completely-hidden-way
[4] https://savannah.gnu.org/bugs/?41074