Is Pi Zero 2W good for my needs + Is Pi5 2GB worth keeping?

Hello!
I am making my bachelor's degree project in robotics and up so far I only did simple basic projects with Arduino. My project is supposed to have a small RC robot with 4 wheels that tracks a human and rotates accordingly to record them.

I bought a Pi5 2GB which I have learned more and more that it needs more attention and conditions... so I found out about the Pi Zero 2W. Initially, I thought about having Pi5 with Mediapipe installed on it and simply have the entire thing running on it's own... but compared to an Arduino board, it doesn't like being connected to the same power source as the wheel motors... so I'd have to either include 2 power sources or increase circuit complexity to satisfy the Pi's needs.

With Pi Zero 2W I'd magine I'd just ask it to send video to a PC for instance and receive comands from the same PC like how to turn and so on. Also, Pi Zero 2W has, I think, easier debugging capabilities because I can work on my primary workstation and just upload the code via USB.

There's another thing... the Pi5 might be just too powerful for the simplicity of the project so I'd rather use it as something else... like a mini-PC for a smart TV or something. I got it for 80$ but it has only 2GB. I still have some time left for returning it... should I return it and get the 8GB version which is 160$ ? Or will the 2GB one be decent doing basic things like a retro console or mini internet browsing device?

In your experience, how do these approaches work in practice? What would you advise me to do? Thank you!