It seems to me that the IMC is mainly about utility whereas aeros are mainly about fun. There's a crossover of course; popping out of cloud on an approach to see a runway in front of you is quite fun, and knowing how to recover an aircraft from a very unusual attitude could certainly be useful, but I think it's a fair distinction.
Really it depends on what you fly for. If you fly in order to get to places then an IMC is a useful tool in the UK since without one you'll spend more time on the ground, or worse, scud-running. If you fly mainly for fun and are happy to do something else on grotty days then aeros are probably a good way to extend your flying and keep your interest up.
Your plan to do some aeros now and an IMC later sounds perfectly reasonable to me.