Yes, thats what i did with my vu meters. That way vu meters would bounce nicely to full scale in any arrangement.
There are those who will only need a watt or two. Those would like to have option to change from 8 watts to one or two.
Than there will be those who run ten to twenty watts. In that case needles would be pegged to the end, even at your 8 watts setting.
Pot on the back is totally doable. Just set the trimmers on the back of vu meeters to the max and insert stereo pot between speaker output and vu meters.
Just a suggestion.
I know its a little more complexity, but everyone would adjust the needles based on their needs. Sometimes, when you know you are going to crank it up, you turn the meters down as not to damage needles.
I always liked Technics vu meters, one of the best looking. Always had switch for 0.1X.