Arm wrestling with miners?

Some miners just admitted that the true reason they don't want segwit is that they are scared of losing transaction fees. That is understandable. So unlimited was just a red herring and they had no intention to hard fork. They tried to use unlimited as a way to reach their goal.

What should we do? Since they endorsed unlimited we should start preparing an alternative POW.

Not to use it, simply as a deterrent. During the Cold War US had missiles pointed at Russia and Russia had missiles pointed at US. There was a threat of mutual destruction. That has proven to be a very effective way to maintain peace.

If we prepare an alternative POW suddenly they would stop pushing for unlimited and both parties win.