I think both of those changes are more interesting, But I think the problem ostheer has is they cap slower so it's tougher to take advantage of the map to get manpower efficient engagements and tougher to get fast tech.
Skipping t1 resolves both of these problems but locks you into some kind of doctrine early or leaves you with a weird mg heavy army.
When they had the Puma to catch-up in the light vehicle game this mattered less and Ostheer was a stronger pick as you had a way to make up for the early weakness if necessary. When you are relying on the 222 as your light vehicle counter it's nothing to get excited for.
That is indeed an issue. A possible solution would be to give them an extra 50mp at the start and add it to the cost of BP1.