coming back to the needing to use the “single” shortcode instead of a category shortcode i still have no idea why this would be required/preferable in this case

(featured)images apply to each item individually anyway, so i cant see where the benefits are on that front…
furthermore (maybe this is a piece of info you are missing , but i dont know)
the plugin has a layout option called “grid” which lets you display things in a – err – grid

generally speaking, it does not really matter of course which way you do things as long as it works for you (and it always depends on other plugins and themes used anyway). after all, who am i to judge what is the best way for you
I was just trying to get my head around why it would be really necessary to use lots of single shortcodes instead of a simple category one…(which of course would have the benefit that you do not need to add more shortcodes if you decide to simply add another menu item to a given category…)

just thinking out loud here though..