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I haven't been able to find a definitive explanation of this anywhere so I'd like to ask:

When making an Unbound army, you CAN have a Formation that recieves its command benefits, so long as it meets all the requirements for units/models. Can you do the same thing with Detachments? For example: if I want to use a a Great Waaagh! Detachment from C: Ghaz, and I add in extra HQ that don't have enough troops units to create a complete seperate Detachment of any kind, would that negate the command benefits of the Great Waaagh! Detachment?

Also: if I want to place those HQ in a unit (say, extra Painboys to give FNP and a Bosspole to a Boyz Mob), would they be unable to benefit from those Command Benefits as well?

You can take Formations. You can't any non-Formation Detachments. On other words, no Great Waaagh!.

The definitive answer you're looking for is 40k is a permissive ruleset. If you don't have permission to do something it can't be done.

From the BRB under the detachments heading in preparing for battle we find this paragraph...

As discussed above, there are many ways to forge a collection of
Citadel miniatures into an army ready to crush your enemies in
games of Warhammer 40,000. This section focuses on the Battle-
forged method. If you opt to choose an army using this method,
your units are organised into Detachments and many gain special
rules and in-game advantages.

This is the permission for battleforged armies to use detachment and gain special bennifits for doing so. There is no such permission for unbound armies to do the same.

And that's the trade off.

I understand the benefits of making a battleforged list - I guess boiling my question down to its essence: can you ONLY take Detachments such as the Great Waaagh or the Ork Horde as part of a battleforged army?

"Unlike other Detachments, Formations can also be taken as part of Unbound armies." -Rulebook, Formations

That's pretty clear to me.

^^ True, good point. Thanks, all!

Also from the BRB, under Primary Detachment: "Of course, in an Unbound army, these models are not bound by any Detachment restrictions and do not receive Command Benefits."