There are times where there is a hava amina (automatic assumption) that Hashem changed His mind, and the standard commentary is "obviously, Hashem didn't really change His mind, it is to teach us that [insert lesson for us mortals here]".
I do note, that we have heavy-weight opinions (even if not widely read or accepted in the classrooms nowadays) that explain that when it comes to our free will, Hashem, so to speak, doesn't know what we will choose without looking to see us make the choice (even if He can do this in an atemporal manner). Some of these opinions are collected here in this excellent answer by Alex.
My question is simple- do any of these or similarly-founded opinions explain that Hashem really did "change His mind", because our free will was at play?
E.g. maybe Hashem really was planning to make the world out of justice, but when He saw our free will choices, He saw that it wouldn't work, and changed to a world of mercy. Maybe Hashem really did intend Adam to be alone, but then saw Adam's free will as a barrier to that, and gave Him a companion.
Here's a possible example. Rav Hoffman says pretty clearly that Hashem made Adam, and then realised that Adam wasn't going to do it the way Hashem hoped, so to speak, so Hashem had a "backup option".
