I hadn't thought about the load on the strut that the pod hangs from.

When in working order, cruise ships can spin slowly in place so that all the passengers can see some scenery (e.g. the glacier at the head of an Alaskan fjord) from their own balconies. And they drive up to the dock without the aid of tugboats. But pods aren't the enabling technology for this maneuverability, bow thrusters, screws and rudders can do it, too.

I think the fuel efficiency is the tempting advantage of azimuth pods.