Balloon launches would have to be carefully planned. Most high-altitude balloons don’t really worry about where they come down, and high-altitude winds are just part of the flight. This one has some crossrange on landing with that airfoil chute, but return to launch site might be harder than it looks.

Not sure how that kind of chute operates at very high altitude. You need to get slowdown almost instantly. Most high-altitude chute jumps involve a period of free fall before the first drogues deploy. The chute seems to have some kind of inflating component, which would explain why it’s always deployed and shaped.

Maybe an actual aerodynamic passenger compartment, like a small winged “plane” could be used? Weight is, of course, a critical issue for anything other than a composite capsule.