Tom seems like a good guy, but every now and then he does some stoooooooooooooopid sh!t.
Here's my interpretation of Tom, which makes him so endearing and cute to me: He knows Lynette is a control freak, and he knows he is supposed to "check his balls at the door." But I think he also knows that, he needs to show backbone. I think he's afraid that if he roles over 100%, Lynette might lose respect for him.
So, he creates drama for Lynette to deal with, becauselet's face it: Lynette needs to clean up other people's drama. I think Tom goes into these situations knowing full well he's not going to win. He's just creating a mess for two reasons: One, to show Lynette he's still the "man of the house" (symbolically, of course), and, two, to give Lynette a purpose. If her life and marriage was perfect, she'd be bored.
Also, he's less mature than Porter and Preston.

Pidder Padder? Make my Heart go Boom Bap and Then We'll Talk!

Did that not strike anybody as controlling or messing with her career?