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What you describe is purely a matter of evaluation. Such Rook manouevres
(when they are pointless) is typically what you get when you award attacks
on the King's Pawn shield by evaluation points. Because that makes
attacking these pawns a goal in itself, and it will do it even when there
is no follow up (i.e. when the plan was pointless). Without such evaluation
award, it would only go for the manouevre if it did have a follow up that
would be awarded in the evaluation (e.g. breaking down the Pawn shield,
exposing the enemy King) AND it would reach the depth to see it. Awarding
the mere attack on the Pawn shield makes that it will find the devastating
King attack at much lower depth (and thus much further in advance at the
same depth). But it has the problem that it also can backfire, when the
plan is pointless, and would isolate a Rook that was needed badly in
defense on the Queen side (e.g. to stop a passer break through). In this
case it just leads to bad Chess.

This is exactly the problem that I am facing in my new Xiangqi engine,
HaQiKi D. To make it survive the middle-game against strong opponents, it
is essential that it gives high evaluation points for Horses and Pawns
appearing close to the enemy Palace. If it doesn't, it allows the opponent
to amass his material for an attack, until it suddenly sees that there is a
mate within the horizon in every branch, because its strategic position is so
bad that there is no cure.

But it also backfires badly: in end-games where it is behind, e.g. HaQiKi
D has 2A+H, and the opponent has 2A+2E+2H, it might be able to draw by
defending with 2A+H against 2H. (The opponent cannot use his 2A and 2E in
attack.) Trading H vs H would be enough, as 2A vs H is a theoretical draw.


But is loses all such games: his own H is drawn to the opponent's palace
like a moth to a flame, in a completely futile attack on an impenetrable
fortress, defended by 2A+2E, where it could not threaten a checkmate even
against a bare King. And then of course his own King is toast, as 2A is no
defense against 2H. 

And then it makes it even worse: in 'remedy' of attacks by the 2H on its
own defending A, it start to counter-attack the opponent A or E, so that
they are traded. Effectively, this indirect trade is like allowing the
opponent A or E to cross the river and join in the attack, breaking don
further what minimal defense there was. (After trading one A, the game is
even lost even if you could trade Horses, as A vs. H is a theortical loss.)
Incredibly stupid! Virtually every end-game from a slightly inferior
position is lost by HaQiKi D this way.

So allocating material to futile plans is not free: it is in fact losing
Chess. Which means that it will disappear (in this simple
Human-recognizable form) on deeper search, when the search corrects the
initial misevaluation. I.e. when it can see the checkmate can no longer be
avoided within the horizon after trading A, or the opponent's promotion
cannot be stopped after isolating your Rook in front of your f,g,h-Pawns.
If there is any fun to be had watching the engine make such futile
attempts, it is only the fun of pitying the stupidity of your opponent when
he does this.