What would make D.Va more skill-based and interesting? Leave mech at will (even without Self-Destruct).

The fundamental mechanic that makes D.Va interesting compared to the other bruisers is her "dual mode" of mech vs. pilot. In pilot mode she has faster rotation speed thanks to mount, and much higher AA dps and ranged poke. In mech mode she's got staying power, tactical mobility, and teamfight utility.

The thing that frustrates me about the above is you can't switch to pilot mode at well except through self-destruct, or risk donating xp to the enemy team by suiciding the mech (aside from the obvious risk of full suicide from doing that).

So I think D.Va should have the ability to just leave her mech behind, either by exploding it prematurely (doesn't give Self-Destruct, just kills it), or by leaving it like a vehicle that you can get back into with a short channel. This should be like an active ability with a cooldown. So you could strategically leave mech to gain higher DPS or travel somewhere fast while mounted.