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In a car with a charge indicator, you can see the battery charge significantly with moderate braking at typical city cruising speeds....The batteries can't absorb all the energy, due to the mechanical, electrical, and chemical losses.

You may be seeing "surface charge" which is different from having been trickle charged or constantly charged over a longer time period (like a road trip).

Like you said, storage cells can't instantly accept all that charge, or you could pull into a charging station and then leave in a few minutes...just like a fill-up.

Another concept I've been daydreaming about is the "battery."

Actually I use terms "battery" and "storage "cells" or "EV cells" because in automotive nomenclature a "battery" generally refers to a package of EV-cells wired in series to provide the desired voltage and ampere hours.

My concept there (and it may already be in use, or under development) is to build a "battery" which is a combination of EV-cells (for durable charge) and a bunch of Megacapacitors (for instant charging) and probably some diodes to control current flow.

None of that is rocket science, and I'm surprised I haven't seen the idea being being talked about. It seems like regenerative braking, or a quick "fill-up" would then be possible.

You sound like you like the individual hub-motor/generator with just a power-cable running to it (like a brake hose) I think it would make AWD and traction control so simple.

Just like rack and pinion, and struts...think of all the iron it eliminates.

You may be seeing "surface charge" which is different from having been trickle charged or constantly charged over a longer time period (like a road trip).

No, it's the actual battery charge. When it gets to full charge, the charging system stops, and the regenerative braking is replaced with traditional disc brakes.

Like you said, storage cells can't instantly accept all that charge, or you could pull into a charging station and then leave in a few minutes...just like a fill-up.

Don't forget that a hybrid's battery is relatively small. It doesn't have the capacity of a fully electric car. For example:

The 2015 Toyota Prius plugin has a 4.4kWh battery, good for 11 miles in electric mode. It's doubled in capacity in 2017.

In contrast, the third-generation Prius (not plug-in) has a battery that is only 1.3kWh - about 1/3rd the capacity. So, if it could be locked into EV mode, it could only be driven a few miles.

I'm actually surprised we haven't seen the use of ultra-capacitors in a hybrid, yet. Perhaps there is a safety issue with shorting them in a crash, although LiIon batteries have the same problem.