Wich then leads to payload. I think for the role they could play in such a scenario, they don't need to be heavy loaded. Four to six AMRAAMS and perhaps even a half internal fuel load. If a PLAAF airraid is in progress, just pop out of the forrest or vallay, accelerate a bit and launch the missiles into the formations flank. Then immediatly hide again.
Maybe you didn't read all the other parts, including the way they can blast pavement and recook asphalt. They can do stuff on asphalt that would make that section of pavement unsuable for anything else. Saves the PLAAF the trouble for bombing that place.
Harriers also have a way of cooking earth and soil into molten glass. That's what you generally get when you superheat sand. And it raises a massive dust storm that is sure to get FOD into the other aircraft. It's a different thing when a helicopter throws the air from its rotor blades to the ground, its another thing when a jet engine of this power has its thrust focused on the same spot in the ground for an extended duration of time.
The USN and the USAF actually hate the aircraft and wonder why the Marines bother. The Marines complain why they dont' get enough funding for the aircraft but after all, the politicians themselves are seriously questioning about the plane, not without good reason.
Remember, this is not a very safe plane to fly. The plane has as much wing area as a MiG-21---for a plane that weighs as much as an F-16. The last generation of MiG-21 is already getting serious problems with accidents involving wing loading issues, and that plane is more than a ton lighter than a Harrier.
When you compound the high wing loading, the high RCS intakes, the poor thermal placement, and the low speed of the aircraft, you know the plane is not very survivable in a modern combat environment.
