Mesh generally means that the access points do not have a cable connection but communicate with each other via WLAN and transport the clients' traffic over potentially multiple stations to the router.
I would never place an access point so centrally purely for aesthetic reasons and then have it lit up as well.
And connecting the access point directly to the cable is annoying because 1) installation cables are rigid and inconvenient for connecting devices and 2) once it's off, it's off.
Forget about mesh for a moment. It has no place in new buildings.
Cable > Mesh > Repeater
Where would you place the access point? The access point definitely doesn't belong directly in the corner. Centrally you have the best WLAN radiation.
You also don't connect the installation cable directly to the access point. A short patch cable is connected in between. You need a deep box or a suspended ceiling. There, a keystone module is attached to the installation cable and the flexible patch cable connects to that.
Not at all petty but fundamentally different network topologies. It’s almost like saying a moped is a car. Both have wheels and move. But completely different use cases and performance. In mesh, the individual APs communicate directly with each other and depending on the configuration, the network is extended to another access point via wifi. That costs performance. Some APs have a separate wifi for the mesh. With your (sensible) plan to wire all the APs individually to the switch, that does not happen. The traffic runs from the access point through the switch. Maximum performance and no compatibility restrictions in case you ever replace an access point or switch to a different manufacturer. How many wifis an access point handles depends on you and the hardware. What you mean is roaming between different APs and not mesh. It is important to coordinate the transmit power and channels well (especially in the 2.4 GHz band). But that applies just as much to mesh.
Seriously: in my house where I pull the cables myself anyway, I also connect the installation cable directly to the access point and save myself the socket and short patch cable. If the cable breaks at that spot after 20 years, well, a new one goes into the empty conduit... Or what else is supposed to happen? I never rearrange the patching, nothing ever bumps against it at the ceiling, no sun reaches it, it always stays the same temperature...
Seriously: in my house where I pull the cables myself anyway, I also connect the installation cable directly to the access point and save myself the outlet and short patch cable. If after 20 years the cable breaks at that point, a new one is simply put into the empty conduit... Or what else should happen? I never re-patch it, nothing ever leans against it at the ceiling, no sun reaches it, it always stays the same temperature...
Good that you mention it. It wasn’t quite clear to me so far why one needs a keystone module and not simply mount an RJ45 adapter?