Would it be a bad idea to accept a return offer to Google?

Hi Taro! I'm considering returning to Google, but I feel like it might be a bad career move and could use some advice.

For context, I worked at Google for 4 years, joining at L3 and leaving at L4. My last review was a "strongly exceeds" (4/5 on their scale.) Since then I worked at a startup for 3 years, and feel like I had the scope and impact to justify an L5 position at FANG.

I recently spoke to a Google recruiter and he told me I have the following options:

1. I can get reinstated at L4 and skip straight to team matching.
2. Alternatively, I can go through a full round of interviews again, and HC would decide my level. Doing this would revoke my ability to take the first option permanently, and I could get downleveled or rejected like any other candidate would.

Given the state of the job market, and the element of luck involved in passing FAANG coding interviews, I'm hesitant to go through a full interview loop again and am tempted to take the option to rejoin at my old level.

I'm sure I would excel at L4, but I wonder if taking the return offer is going to slow my career progression down by too much. My ultimate goal is to get to L6, but given Google's slow promotion process (which I hear has only gotten worse since I left) I'm somewhat concerned that I'll be stuck at L4 for a while.

Here are my main questions:

• What kinds of teams are more likely to support faster promotions, and what kinds of questions can I ask hiring managers to figure this out?
• Is this just a bad idea? Maybe I should hold out for a properly leveled and scoped role at another company.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.