Not always I don't think.

Maybe from me to a geographic location 400 miles away, yes. But what about 4k miles away, like coast to coast?

That would probably depend on how many satellites it has to bounce through and how far it has to travel terrestrial, but I would think there is a geographic distance where that 30ms is faster.

Up to three. After one bounce, it can be redirected into a geostationary or a polar satellite where the final bouncer would reach its LEO peer again.

That statement assumes no transmission latency on your current setup. Kinda doubt that's the case.