Hey just gave it a try! I'll preface that I haven't played any VN before in case that might matter.
For me it's hard to tell if they compliment each other in this short scene. And the closest I think would qualify as clashing is when it was getting to 3+ letters I was only focused on seeing what looked like the hardest choice at a glance and not reading all the choices for the sake of speed, but I assume the point is to go for the hardest choice.
I was for sure engaged, I was a little on edge after every dialogue in case I had to input the letters. I think there is a interesting squeeze and release that happens though, like inputting the letters is stressful and then reading the dialogue after is the reward.
I'm not sure what the "timeout" you mention is, maybe I missed it. If it's the letter input minigame itself though I think it's fits.