You completely misunderstand the point of defamation law. It’s not to protect the feelings of the targeted party. It’s to protect their reputation. Thus, the question of “offense” plays no role in the analysis, outside of possible damages questions.
This misunderstanding undercuts the entire argument.
Again, you’re just highlighting how little you understand about the law. The lack of evidence for the assertion only makes it more likely to be defamatory, not less. If a defendant produces evidence supporting the assertion that they believe they’re making a factual statement, then they can assert truth as a defense.
Absent that evidence, the defendant finds themselves in a worse position. Because they made harmful statements that they don’t even have evidence for. That’s textbook defamation.
The hyperbole isn’t a question of law, but wades into fact finder territory. Meaning that you’d present it to the fact finder and argue that it wouldn’t harm the plaintiff’s reputation because it’s so outlandish no reasonable person could believe it.