Generics could mitigate the lack of covariant return types

CovariantReturnTypes.cls

public class CovariantReturnTypes {

    virtual class X {
        virtual Object foo() { return 0; }
    }

    // I want to do this, but the compiler says "Method return types clash: String vs Object", see
    // https://ideas.salesforce.com/s/idea/a0B8W00000GdXOCUA3/support-covariant-return-types-in-apex
    class Y extends X {
        override String foo() { return ''; }
    }

    // I end up changing the method name
    class YT extends X {
        String fooT() { return '';}
    }
    
    // If I had generics, the base class would be generic
    virtual class XG<T> {
        virtual T foo() { return null; }
    }

    class YG extends XG<String> { 
        override String foo() { return 'YG'; }
    }
}