Is Lloyd’s Golden Power in Ninjago intentionally vague, or just wildly inconsistent?

One thing that has always bothered me about Ninjago is how Lloyd’s Golden Power is portrayed. It feels either extremely inconsistent or intentionally kept mysterious, and I’m not sure which one is actually canon. For starters, why does Lloyd rely on the Golden Dragon for almost everything? Need to create bridges? Golden Dragon. Stopping Nindroids or giant robots? Golden Dragon again. Yet we almost never see him directly channel Golden Energy through his hands the same way other elemental...