If Iron Man can pilot the armor remotely, why does he even need to be in it?

He could communicate suits and devices from space to earth in perfect synch with no interference, along with multiple suits to travel the world at the beck of his word.
Bandwidth is a non-issue for tech heroes as breathing oxygen is as a speedster

Think of bandwidth as it applies to humans interfacing with technology.
A keyboard you can use ten figures, therefore more bandwidth. A phone is two thumbs therefore less bandwidth. Also a human brain (specifically starks) vs an algorithm or a program.
Optimal operation and function is while inside the suit.

Less lag.
More distance, relays, amd servers = more lag as opposed to direct operation.

I really hated how the suits became shittier and shittier as the movies went on. In the first film the MKIII is a beastly suit that lets him tank missiles and crash through fighter jets at high speeds without any major damage. And then in Iron Man 3, they're all made of tinfoil and kindergarten glue and get smashed to pieces just by getting hit by a truck, despite the fact that they should be dozens of times stronger and improved over the MKIII.

It has been shown that the suit can function without him in it, you don't really need Tony to be inside his suit and can pilot numerous suits from his living room.
He does it for style and show people he's the "real deal" when he unfolds his iron mask if not for self-defense when he goes around being a diplomat.
Functionality has practically nothing to do with it.

>dude what if Tony Stark wasn't a superhero

Then he'd just be Metal Knight from OPM.

Being directly interfaced with the suit is not the same as having the remote signal getting scrambled and the suit hijacked. Input lag is also a thing, not something you want against something that can potentially trash the suit with a backhand.

When has input lag EVER affected Iron man?
And the suit doesn't just get hijacked, it has countermeasures and can self-destruct at Stark's whim.
You keep putting those situations on the table as if they wouldn't be doubly worse if Tony isn't inside the suit when that's happening
All of his tech work to a 1:1 input output just like every other techie in comics.

>When has input lag EVER affected Iron man?

When both Steve and Bucky were kicking his shit in in a team-up fight because his senses couldn't keep up with Steve's without his computer doing the calculations to predict Steve's actions.

He's not fucking with tachyons or anything, it took time for his suits to arrive at the end of Iron Man 3 after all, and they were getting their shit kicked in by a bunch of Captain Americas with magma powers or whatever the fuck..

>And the suit doesn't just get hijacked, it has countermeasures and can self-destruct at Stark's whim.

Assuming the signal reaches the suit in time, and anything salvaged from the destruction is invaluable to anyone attempting to replicate it. The only issue past the materials and understanding of the mechanical components is power supply.

>You keep putting those situations on the table as if they wouldn't be doubly worse if Tony isn't inside the suit when that's happening

A remote suit getting ripped by some retard strength robot alien apart sure beats the shit out of Tony wearing the suit get ripped apart by a retard strength robot alien.