diff --git a/.changeset/fuzzy-agents-run.md b/.changeset/fuzzy-agents-run.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..7510bf1028
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/fuzzy-agents-run.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+"@runfusion/fusion": patch
+---
+
+Fix automatic agent runs to resolve executor, planning, heartbeat, merger, and validator models from fresh task/settings configuration before falling back to durable agent runtime defaults.
diff --git a/packages/core/src/__tests__/model-resolution.test.ts b/packages/core/src/__tests__/model-resolution.test.ts
index e26bbb7a60..d79ba0352c 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/__tests__/model-resolution.test.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/__tests__/model-resolution.test.ts
@@ -119,6 +119,46 @@ describe("model-resolution", () => {
     ).toEqual({ provider: "openai", modelId: "gpt-4.1" });
   });
 
+  it("ignores partial pairs at every precedence tier", () => {
+    expect(
+      resolveProjectDefaultModel({
+        defaultProviderOverride: "openai",
+        defaultProvider: "anthropic",
+        defaultModelId: "claude-sonnet-4-5",
+      }),
+    ).toEqual({ provider: "anthropic", modelId: "claude-sonnet-4-5" });
+
+    expect(
+      resolveTaskExecutionModel(
+        { modelProvider: "task-provider" },
+        {
+          executionProvider: "openai",
+          executionModelId: "gpt-4.1",
+        },
+      ),
+    ).toEqual({ provider: "openai", modelId: "gpt-4.1" });
+
+    expect(
+      resolveTaskPlanningModel(
+        { planningModelId: "task-planning-model" },
+        {
+          planningGlobalProvider: "anthropic",
+          planningGlobalModelId: "claude-sonnet-4-5",
+        },
+      ),
+    ).toEqual({ provider: "anthropic", modelId: "claude-sonnet-4-5" });
+
+    expect(
+      resolveTaskValidatorModel(
+        { validatorModelProvider: "validator-task-provider" },
+        {
+          defaultProviderOverride: "google",
+          defaultModelIdOverride: "gemini-2.5-pro",
+        },
+      ),
+    ).toEqual({ provider: "google", modelId: "gemini-2.5-pro" });
+  });
+
   it("forces every lane to mock when testMode is true", () => {
     const settings = {
       testMode: true,
diff --git a/packages/engine/src/__tests__/agent-session-helpers-test-mode.test.ts b/packages/engine/src/__tests__/agent-session-helpers-test-mode.test.ts
index d1e74ec413..6bc4e7b570 100644
--- a/packages/engine/src/__tests__/agent-session-helpers-test-mode.test.ts
+++ b/packages/engine/src/__tests__/agent-session-helpers-test-mode.test.ts
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import {
   resolveHeartbeatSessionModels,
   resolveMergerSessionModel,
   resolvePlanningSessionModel,
+  resolveValidatorSessionModel,
 } from "../agent-session-helpers.js";
 
 const assignedAgentRuntimeConfig = {
@@ -33,6 +34,10 @@ describe("agent-session-helpers test mode overrides", () => {
       provider: "mock",
       modelId: "scripted",
     });
+    expect(resolveValidatorSessionModel("openai", "gpt-4.1", settings, assignedAgentRuntimeConfig)).toEqual({
+      provider: "mock",
+      modelId: "scripted",
+    });
     expect(resolveMergerSessionModel(settings, assignedAgentRuntimeConfig)).toEqual({
       provider: "mock",
       modelId: "scripted",
@@ -65,6 +70,10 @@ describe("agent-session-helpers test mode overrides", () => {
       provider: "mock",
       modelId: "scripted",
     });
+    expect(resolveValidatorSessionModel("openai", "gpt-4.1", settings, assignedAgentRuntimeConfig)).toEqual({
+      provider: "mock",
+      modelId: "scripted",
+    });
     expect(resolveMergerSessionModel(settings, assignedAgentRuntimeConfig)).toEqual({
       provider: "mock",
       modelId: "scripted",
@@ -77,7 +86,7 @@ describe("agent-session-helpers test mode overrides", () => {
     });
   });
 
-  it("keeps existing behavior when test mode is inactive", () => {
+  it("prefers freshly resolved settings over runtimeConfig when test mode is inactive", () => {
     const settings = {
       executionProvider: "openai",
       executionModelId: "gpt-4.1",
@@ -90,22 +99,26 @@ describe("agent-session-helpers test mode overrides", () => {
     };
 
     expect(resolveExecutorSessionModel("task-provider", "task-model", settings, assignedAgentRuntimeConfig)).toEqual({
-      provider: "anthropic",
-      modelId: "claude-sonnet-4-5",
+      provider: "task-provider",
+      modelId: "task-model",
     });
     expect(resolvePlanningSessionModel("task-provider", "task-model", settings, assignedAgentRuntimeConfig)).toEqual({
-      provider: "anthropic",
-      modelId: "claude-sonnet-4-5",
+      provider: "task-provider",
+      modelId: "task-model",
+    });
+    expect(resolveValidatorSessionModel("task-provider", "task-model", settings, assignedAgentRuntimeConfig)).toEqual({
+      provider: "task-provider",
+      modelId: "task-model",
     });
     expect(resolveMergerSessionModel(settings, assignedAgentRuntimeConfig)).toEqual({
-      provider: "anthropic",
-      modelId: "claude-sonnet-4-5",
+      provider: "openai",
+      modelId: "gpt-4.1",
     });
     expect(resolveHeartbeatSessionModels(settings, assignedAgentRuntimeConfig)).toEqual({
-      defaultProvider: "anthropic",
-      defaultModelId: "claude-sonnet-4-5",
-      fallbackProvider: "openai",
-      fallbackModelId: "gpt-4.1",
+      defaultProvider: "openai",
+      defaultModelId: "gpt-4.1",
+      fallbackProvider: undefined,
+      fallbackModelId: undefined,
     });
   });
 });
diff --git a/packages/engine/src/__tests__/agent-session-helpers.test.ts b/packages/engine/src/__tests__/agent-session-helpers.test.ts
index c249713205..0ef1a3b8b8 100644
--- a/packages/engine/src/__tests__/agent-session-helpers.test.ts
+++ b/packages/engine/src/__tests__/agent-session-helpers.test.ts
@@ -1,8 +1,12 @@
 import { beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
 import {
   extractRuntimeHint,
+  extractRuntimeModel,
+  resolveExecutorSessionModel,
   resolveHeartbeatSessionModels,
   resolveMergerSessionModel,
+  resolvePlanningSessionModel,
+  resolveValidatorSessionModel,
 } from "../agent-session-helpers.js";
 
 const { resolveRuntimeMock } = vi.hoisted(() => ({
@@ -39,49 +43,199 @@ describe("extractRuntimeHint", () => {
   });
 });
 
-describe("resolveHeartbeatSessionModels", () => {
-  it("uses agent runtime model as primary and execution settings as fallback", () => {
+describe("extractRuntimeModel", () => {
+  it("parses combined and separate runtime model pairs", () => {
+    expect(extractRuntimeModel({ model: " anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-5 " })).toEqual({
+      provider: "anthropic",
+      modelId: "claude-sonnet-4-5",
+    });
+    expect(extractRuntimeModel({ modelProvider: " openai ", modelId: " gpt-4.1 " })).toEqual({
+      provider: "openai",
+      modelId: "gpt-4.1",
+    });
+  });
+
+  it("does not turn malformed combined strings into complete model pairs", () => {
+    expect(extractRuntimeModel({ model: "gpt 5.3" })).toEqual({
+      provider: undefined,
+      modelId: undefined,
+    });
+  });
+});
+
+describe("resolve session model parity", () => {
+  const settings = {
+    executionProvider: "openai",
+    executionModelId: "gpt-4.1",
+    planningProvider: "anthropic",
+    planningModelId: "claude-sonnet-4-5",
+    defaultProviderOverride: "google",
+    defaultModelIdOverride: "gemini-2.5-pro",
+    defaultProvider: "zai",
+    defaultModelId: "glm-5.1",
+  };
+
+  it("uses the same fresh settings model for executor and heartbeat when runtimeConfig is absent", () => {
+    const executor = resolveExecutorSessionModel(undefined, undefined, settings);
+    const heartbeat = resolveHeartbeatSessionModels(settings);
+
+    expect(executor).toEqual({ provider: "openai", modelId: "gpt-4.1" });
+    expect(heartbeat).toEqual({
+      defaultProvider: executor.provider,
+      defaultModelId: executor.modelId,
+      fallbackProvider: undefined,
+      fallbackModelId: undefined,
+    });
+  });
+
+  it("ignores partial runtimeConfig pairs without mixing runtime and settings fields", () => {
     expect(resolveHeartbeatSessionModels(
       {
         executionProvider: "openai",
         executionModelId: "gpt-4.1",
       },
-      { model: "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-5" },
+      { modelProvider: "stale-provider" },
     )).toEqual({
+      defaultProvider: "openai",
+      defaultModelId: "gpt-4.1",
+      fallbackProvider: undefined,
+      fallbackModelId: undefined,
+    });
+
+    expect(resolveHeartbeatSessionModels(
+      {
+        executionProvider: "openai",
+        executionModelId: "gpt-4.1",
+      },
+      { modelId: "gpt 5.3" },
+    )).toEqual({
+      defaultProvider: "openai",
+      defaultModelId: "gpt-4.1",
+      fallbackProvider: undefined,
+      fallbackModelId: undefined,
+    });
+  });
+
+  it("does not let a stale complete runtime model mask newer task or settings models", () => {
+    const staleRuntimeConfig = { model: "openai-codex/gpt-5.3-codex" };
+
+    expect(resolveExecutorSessionModel("task-provider", "task-model", settings, staleRuntimeConfig)).toEqual({
+      provider: "task-provider",
+      modelId: "task-model",
+    });
+    expect(resolveExecutorSessionModel(undefined, undefined, settings, staleRuntimeConfig)).toEqual({
+      provider: "openai",
+      modelId: "gpt-4.1",
+    });
+    expect(resolvePlanningSessionModel("planning-task-provider", "planning-task-model", settings, staleRuntimeConfig)).toEqual({
+      provider: "planning-task-provider",
+      modelId: "planning-task-model",
+    });
+    expect(resolvePlanningSessionModel(undefined, undefined, settings, staleRuntimeConfig)).toEqual({
+      provider: "anthropic",
+      modelId: "claude-sonnet-4-5",
+    });
+    expect(resolveHeartbeatSessionModels(settings, staleRuntimeConfig)).toEqual({
+      defaultProvider: "openai",
+      defaultModelId: "gpt-4.1",
+      fallbackProvider: undefined,
+      fallbackModelId: undefined,
+    });
+    expect(resolveValidatorSessionModel("validator-task-provider", "validator-task-model", settings, staleRuntimeConfig)).toEqual({
+      provider: "validator-task-provider",
+      modelId: "validator-task-model",
+    });
+    expect(resolveMergerSessionModel(settings, staleRuntimeConfig)).toEqual({
+      provider: "google",
+      modelId: "gemini-2.5-pro",
+    });
+  });
+
+  it("does not leak malformed gpt 5.3-style runtimeConfig into any automatic lane", () => {
+    const malformedRuntimeConfig = { modelId: "gpt 5.3" };
+
+    expect(resolveExecutorSessionModel(undefined, undefined, settings, malformedRuntimeConfig)).toEqual({
+      provider: "openai",
+      modelId: "gpt-4.1",
+    });
+    expect(resolvePlanningSessionModel(undefined, undefined, settings, malformedRuntimeConfig)).toEqual({
+      provider: "anthropic",
+      modelId: "claude-sonnet-4-5",
+    });
+    expect(resolveHeartbeatSessionModels(settings, malformedRuntimeConfig)).toEqual({
+      defaultProvider: "openai",
+      defaultModelId: "gpt-4.1",
+      fallbackProvider: undefined,
+      fallbackModelId: undefined,
+    });
+    expect(resolveValidatorSessionModel(undefined, undefined, settings, malformedRuntimeConfig)).toEqual({
+      provider: "google",
+      modelId: "gemini-2.5-pro",
+    });
+    expect(resolveMergerSessionModel(settings, malformedRuntimeConfig)).toEqual({
+      provider: "google",
+      modelId: "gemini-2.5-pro",
+    });
+  });
+
+  it("falls back through project override and global defaults before runtimeConfig", () => {
+    const staleRuntimeConfig = { model: "stale-provider/stale-model" };
+
+    expect(resolveMergerSessionModel({
+      defaultProviderOverride: "google",
+      defaultModelIdOverride: "gemini-2.5-pro",
       defaultProvider: "anthropic",
       defaultModelId: "claude-sonnet-4-5",
-      fallbackProvider: "openai",
-      fallbackModelId: "gpt-4.1",
-    });
+    }, staleRuntimeConfig)).toEqual({ provider: "google", modelId: "gemini-2.5-pro" });
+    expect(resolveMergerSessionModel({
+      defaultProvider: "anthropic",
+      defaultModelId: "claude-sonnet-4-5",
+    }, staleRuntimeConfig)).toEqual({ provider: "anthropic", modelId: "claude-sonnet-4-5" });
   });
 
-  it("uses execution settings model when runtime override is missing", () => {
-    expect(resolveHeartbeatSessionModels(
-      {
-        executionProvider: "openai",
-        executionModelId: "gpt-4.1",
-      },
-      {},
-    )).toEqual({
-      defaultProvider: "openai",
-      defaultModelId: "gpt-4.1",
+  it("uses a complete runtime model only when no lane/task/default model is configured", () => {
+    const runtimeConfig = { modelProvider: "anthropic", modelId: "claude-opus-4" };
+
+    expect(resolveExecutorSessionModel(undefined, undefined, undefined, runtimeConfig)).toEqual({
+      provider: "anthropic",
+      modelId: "claude-opus-4",
+    });
+    expect(resolvePlanningSessionModel(undefined, undefined, undefined, runtimeConfig)).toEqual({
+      provider: "anthropic",
+      modelId: "claude-opus-4",
+    });
+    expect(resolveHeartbeatSessionModels(undefined, runtimeConfig)).toEqual({
+      defaultProvider: "anthropic",
+      defaultModelId: "claude-opus-4",
       fallbackProvider: undefined,
       fallbackModelId: undefined,
     });
+    expect(resolveValidatorSessionModel(undefined, undefined, undefined, runtimeConfig)).toEqual({
+      provider: "anthropic",
+      modelId: "claude-opus-4",
+    });
+    expect(resolveMergerSessionModel(undefined, runtimeConfig)).toEqual({
+      provider: "anthropic",
+      modelId: "claude-opus-4",
+    });
   });
 
-  it("does not duplicate fallback when runtime and execution model are the same", () => {
-    expect(resolveHeartbeatSessionModels(
-      {
-        executionProvider: "openai",
-        executionModelId: "gpt-4.1",
-      },
-      { modelProvider: "openai", modelId: "gpt-4.1" },
-    )).toEqual({
-      defaultProvider: "openai",
-      defaultModelId: "gpt-4.1",
-      fallbackProvider: undefined,
-      fallbackModelId: undefined,
+  it("covers backend-only surfaces; desktop and mobile breakpoints are not applicable", () => {
+    expect(resolveExecutorSessionModel(undefined, undefined, settings, { model: "stale/old" })).toEqual({
+      provider: "openai",
+      modelId: "gpt-4.1",
+    });
+    expect(resolvePlanningSessionModel(undefined, undefined, settings, { model: "stale/old" })).toEqual({
+      provider: "anthropic",
+      modelId: "claude-sonnet-4-5",
+    });
+    expect(resolveValidatorSessionModel(undefined, undefined, settings, { model: "stale/old" })).toEqual({
+      provider: "google",
+      modelId: "gemini-2.5-pro",
+    });
+    expect(resolveMergerSessionModel(settings, { model: "stale/old" })).toEqual({
+      provider: "google",
+      modelId: "gemini-2.5-pro",
     });
   });
 });
@@ -220,15 +374,10 @@ describe("createResolvedAgentSession", () => {
 });
 
 describe("resolveMergerSessionModel", () => {
-  it("uses assigned agent runtime model when both provider and modelId are present", () => {
+  it("uses assigned agent runtime model only when no default model pair is configured", () => {
     expect(
       resolveMergerSessionModel(
-        {
-          defaultProviderOverride: "openai",
-          defaultModelIdOverride: "gpt-4.1",
-          defaultProvider: "anthropic",
-          defaultModelId: "claude-3-5-sonnet",
-        },
+        {},
         { model: "  anthropic/claude-3-5-sonnet-20241022  " },
       ),
     ).toEqual({
diff --git a/packages/engine/src/__tests__/heartbeat-executor.test.ts b/packages/engine/src/__tests__/heartbeat-executor.test.ts
index 81aff37206..938c16c790 100644
--- a/packages/engine/src/__tests__/heartbeat-executor.test.ts
+++ b/packages/engine/src/__tests__/heartbeat-executor.test.ts
@@ -3001,7 +3001,7 @@ describe("executeHeartbeat", () => {
       expect(taskLogTool.name).toBe("fn_task_log");
     });
 
-    it("passes runtime model as primary and execution settings model as fallback", async () => {
+    it("passes execution settings model ahead of stale runtime model", async () => {
       const store = createStoreWithAgentForExec({
         runtimeConfig: { model: "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-5" },
       });
@@ -3022,10 +3022,10 @@ describe("executeHeartbeat", () => {
 
       expect(mockedCreateFnAgent).toHaveBeenCalledOnce();
       const callArgs = mockedCreateFnAgent.mock.calls[0]![0];
-      expect(callArgs.defaultProvider).toBe("anthropic");
-      expect(callArgs.defaultModelId).toBe("claude-sonnet-4-5");
-      expect(callArgs.fallbackProvider).toBe("openai");
-      expect(callArgs.fallbackModelId).toBe("gpt-4.1");
+      expect(callArgs.defaultProvider).toBe("openai");
+      expect(callArgs.defaultModelId).toBe("gpt-4.1");
+      expect(callArgs.fallbackProvider).toBeUndefined();
+      expect(callArgs.fallbackModelId).toBeUndefined();
     });
 
     it("passes undefined model when runtimeConfig has no model", async () => {
diff --git a/packages/engine/src/__tests__/mission-execution-loop.test.ts b/packages/engine/src/__tests__/mission-execution-loop.test.ts
index d1bb8d7dc2..7f1f169a95 100644
--- a/packages/engine/src/__tests__/mission-execution-loop.test.ts
+++ b/packages/engine/src/__tests__/mission-execution-loop.test.ts
@@ -1145,7 +1145,7 @@ describe("MissionExecutionLoop", () => {
       }));
     });
 
-    it("uses assigned agent runtime model ahead of task/settings for mission validation", async () => {
+    it("uses task/settings validator model ahead of assigned agent runtime model for mission validation", async () => {
       const feature = createMockFeature({ loopState: "implementing", taskId: "FN-MODEL-AGENT", status: "in-progress" });
       missionStore._setFeature(feature);
       missionStore.getFeatureByTaskId = vi.fn().mockReturnValue(feature);
@@ -1185,8 +1185,8 @@ describe("MissionExecutionLoop", () => {
 
       expect(createResolvedAgentSession).toHaveBeenCalledWith(expect.objectContaining({
         sessionPurpose: "validation",
-        defaultProvider: "agent-provider",
-        defaultModelId: "agent-model",
+        defaultProvider: "task-validator",
+        defaultModelId: "task-validator-model",
       }));
     });
 
diff --git a/packages/engine/src/__tests__/triage.test.ts b/packages/engine/src/__tests__/triage.test.ts
index 517352ca03..22a43433ad 100644
--- a/packages/engine/src/__tests__/triage.test.ts
+++ b/packages/engine/src/__tests__/triage.test.ts
@@ -3084,7 +3084,7 @@ describe("taskCreate tool model inheritance", () => {
       expect(capturedArgs.systemPrompt).toContain("agent ID: agent-007");
     });
 
-    it("prefers assigned-agent runtime model and falls back when incomplete", async () => {
+    it("prefers planning settings model ahead of assigned-agent runtime model", async () => {
       const completeRuntimeTask = createTriageTask({ id: "FN-AGENT-MODEL-1", assignedAgentId: "agent-model-complete" });
       const incompleteRuntimeTask = createTriageTask({ id: "FN-AGENT-MODEL-2", assignedAgentId: "agent-model-incomplete" });
 
@@ -3152,7 +3152,7 @@ describe("taskCreate tool model inheritance", () => {
       const completeCall = capturedArgs.find((entry) => entry.taskId === "FN-AGENT-MODEL-1");
       const fallbackCall = capturedArgs.find((entry) => entry.taskId === "FN-AGENT-MODEL-2");
 
-      expect(completeCall).toMatchObject({ defaultProvider: "anthropic", defaultModelId: "claude-sonnet-4-5" });
+      expect(completeCall).toMatchObject({ defaultProvider: "openai", defaultModelId: "gpt-4o" });
       expect(fallbackCall).toMatchObject({ defaultProvider: "openai", defaultModelId: "gpt-4o" });
     });
 
diff --git a/packages/engine/src/agent-session-helpers.ts b/packages/engine/src/agent-session-helpers.ts
index 98939f5162..31c1144d17 100644
--- a/packages/engine/src/agent-session-helpers.ts
+++ b/packages/engine/src/agent-session-helpers.ts
@@ -14,9 +14,12 @@ import type { AgentSession } from "@earendil-works/pi-coding-agent";
 import {
   isTestModeActive,
   resolveExecutionSettingsModel,
+  resolveProjectDefaultModel,
   resolveTaskExecutionModel,
   resolveTaskPlanningModel,
+  resolveTaskValidatorModel,
   TEST_MODE_RESOLVED,
+  type ResolvedModelSelection,
   type Settings,
 } from "@fusion/core";
 import { resolveRuntime, buildRuntimeResolutionContext, isMockProviderId, type SessionPurpose } from "./runtime-resolution.js";
@@ -131,6 +134,32 @@ export function extractRuntimeModel(
   };
 }
 
+function hasCompleteRuntimeModel(
+  model: ResolvedModelSelection,
+): model is { provider: string; modelId: string } {
+  return Boolean(model.provider && model.modelId);
+}
+
+function pickSettingsThenRuntimeModel(
+  settingsModel: ResolvedModelSelection,
+  assignedAgentRuntimeConfig?: Record<string, unknown>,
+): { provider: string | undefined; modelId: string | undefined } {
+  if (settingsModel.provider && settingsModel.modelId) {
+    return {
+      provider: settingsModel.provider,
+      modelId: settingsModel.modelId,
+    };
+  }
+
+  const assignedRuntimeModel = extractRuntimeModel(assignedAgentRuntimeConfig);
+  return hasCompleteRuntimeModel(assignedRuntimeModel)
+    ? assignedRuntimeModel
+    : {
+      provider: settingsModel.provider,
+      modelId: settingsModel.modelId,
+    };
+}
+
 export function resolveExecutorSessionModel(
   taskModelProvider: string | undefined,
   taskModelId: string | undefined,
@@ -144,11 +173,6 @@ export function resolveExecutorSessionModel(
     };
   }
 
-  const assignedRuntimeModel = extractRuntimeModel(assignedAgentRuntimeConfig);
-  if (assignedRuntimeModel.provider && assignedRuntimeModel.modelId) {
-    return assignedRuntimeModel;
-  }
-
   const resolvedTaskModel = resolveTaskExecutionModel(
     {
       modelProvider: taskModelProvider,
@@ -157,10 +181,7 @@ export function resolveExecutorSessionModel(
     settings,
   );
 
-  return {
-    provider: resolvedTaskModel.provider,
-    modelId: resolvedTaskModel.modelId,
-  };
+  return pickSettingsThenRuntimeModel(resolvedTaskModel, assignedAgentRuntimeConfig);
 }
 
 export function resolvePlanningSessionModel(
@@ -176,11 +197,6 @@ export function resolvePlanningSessionModel(
     };
   }
 
-  const assignedRuntimeModel = extractRuntimeModel(assignedAgentRuntimeConfig);
-  if (assignedRuntimeModel.provider && assignedRuntimeModel.modelId) {
-    return assignedRuntimeModel;
-  }
-
   const resolvedTaskPlanningModel = resolveTaskPlanningModel(
     {
       planningModelProvider: taskPlanningModelProvider,
@@ -189,10 +205,31 @@ export function resolvePlanningSessionModel(
     settings,
   );
 
-  return {
-    provider: resolvedTaskPlanningModel.provider,
-    modelId: resolvedTaskPlanningModel.modelId,
-  };
+  return pickSettingsThenRuntimeModel(resolvedTaskPlanningModel, assignedAgentRuntimeConfig);
+}
+
+export function resolveValidatorSessionModel(
+  taskValidatorModelProvider: string | undefined,
+  taskValidatorModelId: string | undefined,
+  settings: Partial<Settings> | undefined,
+  assignedAgentRuntimeConfig?: Record<string, unknown>,
+): { provider: string | undefined; modelId: string | undefined } {
+  if (isTestModeActive(settings)) {
+    return {
+      provider: TEST_MODE_RESOLVED.provider,
+      modelId: TEST_MODE_RESOLVED.modelId,
+    };
+  }
+
+  const resolvedTaskValidatorModel = resolveTaskValidatorModel(
+    {
+      validatorModelProvider: taskValidatorModelProvider,
+      validatorModelId: taskValidatorModelId,
+    },
+    settings,
+  );
+
+  return pickSettingsThenRuntimeModel(resolvedTaskValidatorModel, assignedAgentRuntimeConfig);
 }
 
 export function resolveHeartbeatSessionModels(
@@ -213,21 +250,14 @@ export function resolveHeartbeatSessionModels(
     };
   }
 
-  const assignedRuntimeModel = extractRuntimeModel(assignedAgentRuntimeConfig);
   const executionSettingsModel = resolveExecutionSettingsModel(settings);
-
-  const defaultProvider = assignedRuntimeModel.provider ?? executionSettingsModel.provider;
-  const defaultModelId = assignedRuntimeModel.modelId ?? executionSettingsModel.modelId;
-
-  const executionPairAvailable = Boolean(executionSettingsModel.provider && executionSettingsModel.modelId);
-  const defaultMatchesExecution =
-    defaultProvider === executionSettingsModel.provider && defaultModelId === executionSettingsModel.modelId;
+  const resolvedModel = pickSettingsThenRuntimeModel(executionSettingsModel, assignedAgentRuntimeConfig);
 
   return {
-    defaultProvider,
-    defaultModelId,
-    fallbackProvider: executionPairAvailable && !defaultMatchesExecution ? executionSettingsModel.provider : undefined,
-    fallbackModelId: executionPairAvailable && !defaultMatchesExecution ? executionSettingsModel.modelId : undefined,
+    defaultProvider: resolvedModel.provider,
+    defaultModelId: resolvedModel.modelId,
+    fallbackProvider: undefined,
+    fallbackModelId: undefined,
   };
 }
 
@@ -242,22 +272,11 @@ export function resolveMergerSessionModel(
     };
   }
 
-  const assignedRuntimeModel = extractRuntimeModel(assignedAgentRuntimeConfig);
-  if (assignedRuntimeModel.provider && assignedRuntimeModel.modelId) {
-    return assignedRuntimeModel;
-  }
-
-  if (settings?.defaultProviderOverride && settings.defaultModelIdOverride) {
-    return {
-      provider: settings.defaultProviderOverride,
-      modelId: settings.defaultModelIdOverride,
-    };
-  }
-
-  return {
-    provider: settings?.defaultProvider,
-    modelId: settings?.defaultModelId,
-  };
+  // Merger intentionally uses the default lane rather than execution/validator
+  // lanes. Validator-specific callers resolve `resolveValidatorSettingsModel`
+  // before falling back here; generic merger work uses project/global defaults.
+  const defaultModel = resolveProjectDefaultModel(settings);
+  return pickSettingsThenRuntimeModel(defaultModel, assignedAgentRuntimeConfig);
 }
 
 /**
diff --git a/packages/engine/src/mission-execution-loop.ts b/packages/engine/src/mission-execution-loop.ts
index cfd77f3e7e..d70347bc73 100644
--- a/packages/engine/src/mission-execution-loop.ts
+++ b/packages/engine/src/mission-execution-loop.ts
@@ -22,17 +22,12 @@ import type {
   Settings,
   Milestone,
 } from "@fusion/core";
-import {
-  TEST_MODE_RESOLVED,
-  isTestModeActive,
-  resolveTaskValidatorModel,
-} from "@fusion/core";
 import { createFnAgent, promptWithFallback, type AgentResult } from "./pi.js";
 import { mergeEffectiveSettings } from "./effective-settings.js";
 import {
   createResolvedAgentSession,
   extractRuntimeHint,
-  extractRuntimeModel,
+  resolveValidatorSessionModel,
 } from "./agent-session-helpers.js";
 import { createLogger } from "./logger.js";
 import { createFallbackModelObserver } from "./fallback-model-observer.js";
@@ -573,30 +568,12 @@ export class MissionExecutionLoop extends EventEmitter {
     settings: Partial<Settings> | undefined,
     assignedAgentRuntimeConfig?: Record<string, unknown>,
   ): { provider: string | undefined; modelId: string | undefined } {
-    if (isTestModeActive(settings)) {
-      return {
-        provider: TEST_MODE_RESOLVED.provider,
-        modelId: TEST_MODE_RESOLVED.modelId,
-      };
-    }
-
-    const assignedRuntimeModel = extractRuntimeModel(assignedAgentRuntimeConfig);
-    if (assignedRuntimeModel.provider && assignedRuntimeModel.modelId) {
-      return assignedRuntimeModel;
-    }
-
-    const resolvedTaskModel = resolveTaskValidatorModel(
-      {
-        validatorModelProvider: task?.validatorModelProvider,
-        validatorModelId: task?.validatorModelId,
-      },
+    return resolveValidatorSessionModel(
+      task?.validatorModelProvider,
+      task?.validatorModelId,
       settings,
+      assignedAgentRuntimeConfig,
     );
-
-    return {
-      provider: resolvedTaskModel.provider,
-      modelId: resolvedTaskModel.modelId,
-    };
   }
 
   /**
diff --git a/packages/engine/src/triage.ts b/packages/engine/src/triage.ts
index dfc0f5d63f..8647e48c16 100644
--- a/packages/engine/src/triage.ts
+++ b/packages/engine/src/triage.ts
@@ -1335,9 +1335,9 @@ export class TriageProcessor {
         });
 
         // Resolve planning model using executor-style precedence:
-        // 1. Assigned durable agent runtime model pair when complete
-        // 2. Task planning override pair
-        // 3. Planning/project/global fallbacks
+        // 1. Task planning override pair
+        // 2. Planning/project/global fallbacks
+        // 3. Assigned durable agent runtime model pair when no fresh model pair exists
         const planningModel = resolvePlanningSessionModel(
           task.planningModelProvider,
           task.planningModelId,