Personally I think some people just go too far with that kind of /efficient movement/ thinking. There's nothing wrong with pressing j or k a few times, and I agree it's a waste of brain energy to think hard about how to get wherever. (I also think hjkl vs arrow keys is overrated, though I've learned to use hjkl)

The only commands I use to move vertically in vim are j, k, /, ?, ctrl-d, ctrl-u. And sometimes I just get the mouse and click.