Perhaps I'm wrong in assuming that Harrier flight ops consist of Short Take-offs and Vertical Landings? To me, the landing gear arrangement doesn't look conducive to a normal landing approach.
You are absolutely correct for shipboard operations.
For land operations the Harrier AV-8B can perform a rolling landing, using both thrust vectoring and wingborn lift. It really saves on fuel to land conventionally, and you can land with a higher gross weight. (Aborted mission, for example, and you don't want to dump your stores and fuel.)