Basic assists relies on another player to make a pass to another player to score. Hence why primary assists are more accurate. If I pass to you and you make an great play and another player scores I get an assist. Not a good depection of playmaking abilities.
Your also wrong on the second point, Marner has more primary assists is the argument to be made. Rantanen passing to landeskog passing to Mackinnion to score isnt playmaking.
I don't know how you can argue assist > primary assist when it comes to creating a play (playmaking)
So what if the guy who got the second assist made a great play to start sequence leading to a goal? Or does that not ever happen in your eyes?
Sometimes the guy who makes a great play that leads to goal doesn't even make it on the stat sheet.