Light Cycle:
Perhaps then turning the water heater down a tad would be prudent, esp. if you find it "bakes on" the soils by any degree. Perhaps that's why the High-Temeperature cycle on our machine sometimes left food baked on... And that's why we don't use it anymore (LOL!)
Is there some way you could set the timer so you get the "Water Miser" cycle, but you are actually using the "Pots/Pans" button? E.g. Pots button, but turn the dial to "Water-Mise" ?
That way, you'd get the LONG (Hot) wash you desire...
OR: Figure out where the final pre-rinse starts, and use the Pots/Pans mode from there? Then you'd have a cool pre-rinse, getting rid of major food-soils, but not enough to draw hot water right to the machine and heat the tub, giving you the full benefit of the heating period. Like this: Cool Pre-Rinse -> Cool/Lukewarm Start of MW...
Please give this a shot, having a pre-rinse is WAY better for cleaning results. I can say that myself (Having used our machine on "Rinse," letting that run before starting the "Fast" cycle). Doing the same before a "Normal" cycle helps a lot too with dirty pans and stuff