Is it possible, just POSSIBLE, that Lefebvre believed something like this?
The see might be vacant, it might be. We can't know for sure. But until the Church makes that clear, we risk being schismatic if we take that view. So we've got to assume he's Pope, obey his lawful commands, and pray for him in the mass. And any priest who won't do that isn't welcome in the society.
A view like that would reconcile both of your arguments, so I wonder.