Much further down the chain? He literally meets with the guys who hire the kid dealers and kid assassins. In his own office in open view. He is literally one step or even less than that from being directly connected to child soldiers and drug dealers. The guys who hired the kids have direct access to Gus at one of his corporate offices. They were not bottom of the chain at all.
There's conflict between Jesse and the dealers over the kid, and the fact Jesse realizes the kid killed his gangbanger friend Combo. Gus intervenes because well your subordinates throwing down is going to cause loads of problems-he tells them to "make peace". Obviously, they don't, but Gus did have something of an interest in resolving the beef. And it wouldn't be as if these dealers were directly talking to Gus most of the time-at most Victor or Tyrus, or some other lieutenant. So that's "down the chain".
Gus also walks through the meth lab multiple times on camera. Slits a guy's throat. Goes to Gale's apartment like an idiot. He took huge risks constantly. He was reckless and careless in BB. Gus is like the serial killer that can't stop sending messages to the newspapers and the FBI because deep down he wants to get caught.
Going to Gale's apartment should have been a non problem, it was Jesse that went on Walt's orders and killed him. Which drew attention to Gus, something that would never have happened if Walt had never been hired in the first place, or if Walt had felt he needed to force Gus's hand by getting rid of a potential replacement. Same principle for the meth lab, and killing Vector. This is a man who fooled the ABQ DEA Chief. So much so he was forced to retire, who was on a hospital board, attended charity events, basically the "model minority" "pillar of the community" archetype as a conscious front. Gus even convinces most of the DEA he wasn't involved in Gale's death, but Hank has that cop intuition we always see on TV instead of being satisfied with the explanation given.
Mike and Gus are idiots. If Walt listens to Mike then everyone goes to jail. All it takes is one guy to talk to the DEA or FBI and they are done. Mike himself opens himself up to a massive investigation by putting his money in a bank account under his granddaughter's name that Gus was tied to. Mike's guys were beyond compromised. Saul was right. Kill Badger. Walt handled things directly by taking out the loose ends. Walt wins in the end and even gets the money to his family. Gus dies to a Salamanca. Mike dies penniless and alone like a total moron.
Paying off those guys was done both as an act of loyalty-they were solid men who did what they were told, and a way to prevent the government from pushing leverage over them-"talk and you get out sooner"-the money was to their families, "serve your time, keep your mouth shut, and we will ensure your family is taken care of". Mike does this because it prevents rats and he has a sentiment/feeling that loyalty shouldn't be casually betrayed. Obviously, it risked exposure, but that was due to Hank pushing the issue, over any inclination of the DEA to pursue Heisenberg. Walt killing them prevented them from talking yes, but it also made it clear beyond any doubt Heisenberg was still alive. There was no indication any of them were going to talk until Mike was gone.
And Walt is a genius criminal. He makes millions and gets it to his family. He destroys three cartels almost by himself. He makes the purest meth in history. All while suffering from cancer. Walt basically takes down the last of the Salamancas, Gus's cartel, and the Nazis without help. Makes millions doing it. And leaves it all to his family.
Walt gets
some of the money, most of it is in a barrel in the desert somewhere. His wife is in poverty by the end of the show, and he has to force the Schwartzes to pay for Junior's college. No way are they walking off with millions of dollars. At best his children have their education paid for. Gus took out the Salamancas, Hector was already dead-Walt used his desire for vengeance as a last act against Fring. Taking down Gus Fring I'll grant, but not the Salamancas, the nazi gang I'll grant as well-its sheer luck though he could dive for his keys, he beat Jack's gang through bluster and using Jack's criminal code/honor against him. Jack not shooting him after killing Hank and taking all the money(allowing Walt to pay for the trip to New hampshire and back and the m60 was not due to anything on his part).
Walt wins insofar as he never sees the inside of a jail cell, his family will collect some of the money, and Jesse escapes. He doesn't die in a comfortable bed a multi millionaire.
Walt is not an idiot, but he if he had not been attached to Jesse and been willing to work under Gus's thumb-he could have left his family actual millions, died quietly and peacefully and not salvaged the situation by the barest of margins. Walt is cunning, resourceful, and very good at what he does, he also causes most of his own problems. Many of which involve not disposing of Jesse because he's a tard Walter has to constantly wrangle.
Only Gus and Hank are like that. Walt relies on Skinny Pete and Badger to help him intimidate the Schwarz family. And he relies on both his wife and Saul with parts of his operation. Walt also tried to rely on Gale, Lydia, Gus, Jesse, and Mike until they became useless.
Intimidating the Schwarzes was a gamble, just like the bomb going off with Hector was a gamble, just like trying to hope Jack wouldn't just shoot him long enough for Jesse to be brought out and walt to snatch his keys-obviously you need some luck, but Walt relies
a lot on plans going off without a hitch or people acting in a certain way. When they don't (e.g., Jack showing up anyway) things go to shit.
Walt's wife is so loyal that she overlooks Walt's entire crime operation to get those millions. She was willing accomplice to the end.
You mean the same woman who bitches nonstop, demands the kids be sent away and they are for months or weeks at least, walks into a pool, and gives him grief about his work?
Walter White's biggest blindsides are his failure to understand the motives of other people he works with. Walter can only think of his own self-interest, he can't imagine why Gus would be furious with killing Gale, or why Mike just won't let him run everything or why Jack has every incentive to kill Hank. At one point he says something to the effect of "if I could just find the right word combination" I think when speaking about Gus, trying to convince him of something. Which speaks to his chemistry background-the right ingredients produce the right reaction. Sometimes this works, it often did not. Walt then acts blindsided when other actors fail to operate the way they ought to(whatever is best for Walter).
