"Okay, so she's going to a very well armored useless flaming wreck."
Dozens of 14" and 16" hits, NONE OF WHICH PENETRATE the armored portions of the ship.
You know, the portions of the ship that keep it fighting and maneuvering.
Boilers? Armored.
Magazines? Armored.
Conning tower/bridge? Armored.
Gun turrets? Armored.
Steering gear? Armored.
Fire control? Armored.
All or nothing armored schemes protect the portions of the ship that keep it moving and keep it fighting.
Fires and damage in the upper works? Annoying, but not a critical impediment to the ship's maneuverability, its speed or its ability to fight.
Yes, hits on the less armored bow or stern can cause flooding, but battleships, even the older American ships, were designed with that possibility in mind and engineered so that hits there would not dramatically affect the ship's performance.
It's also unrealistic to think that the American ships could close to a degree where they could pick and choose hits on the bow/stern.
And, once again, you're overplaying, dramatically, the abilities of American fire control radar, as I have explained below.
Yamato's ability to shrug off NON PENETRATING hits from the American ships would allow it the time and ability to dole out something that the American ships couldn't overcome -- shells that could penetrate the belt and deck armor of any of those WW I-era battleships -- at any engagement range. Including the turret faces.
There would be flaming wreckage, all right, but most of it would be American.