The problem is, he does just chill there. He basically says, “Good luck facing the First Order on your own! I’m too old to help, and my knee is acting up again.” If Leia asks him to help them, why doesn’t he help them get to the ship? He just slinks back off into the background. If he just steps in of his own accord, and only does so because he recognizes Chewie, I think that makes a lot more sense.

EDIT: Ooh, another issue with the “Transmission” line: “Give Leia my love.” “You should give it to her yourself.” “Oh hey, that’s a great idea! [Calls Leia back] Hey girl, I love you! Don’t die until I get there! Haha.”

Like I said before though, my biggest reason for cutting the line, from a storytelling perspective, is just to stretch out the tension until we reveal that it’s Lando. Otherwise, the tension is deflated as soon as we learn “Oh, he’s a friend of Leia’s? I guess we can trust him then… Oh, it’s Lando. That’s nice.”