Fair enough. There's a video I watched by Mythical Kitchen not too long ago and they go through the different techniques used when making spaghetti and meatballs. I think they went for a sear type thing, but mostly because cooking it in the sauce for so long made the meatball really soft and fall apart easily and they preferred a tougher meatball. I don't really remember though, so don't take my word for it. Was an interesting watch regardless.
I have nostalgia tied with that way of making meatballs. So, it may not be the best way to cook them, but they're still delicious and reminds me of my nan.