Mi EASA Su EASA
If it were me, I would go with option 2.
It's too late for you now but what I mean when I say be smart with your training is to target your training accordingly. Personally I couldn't go integrated, a) I couldn't afford it, and b) I had a full time job with a mortgage and family to support. But what I did was quite simple and took an hour's research (something most wannabes do not do).
Now I was (still am) old in relative terms to getting into the industry, I left school with no A levels or Uni degree (although I did catch up on a Uni degree later on in life) so I looked at my chances of getting into alot of airlines and short-listed 2. I then looked at ways of gaining employment with these two airlines and ended up with one option. It was this option I chose to target. Then I looked at flight schools to do the training with, and one of them had a "tie-in" with the airline I was targeting - perfect. All I have to do now is get on the course, do well and get the recommendation. This is exactly what happened, I had the recommendation. Next though was the interview and sim check to pass. Having not done an MCC yet I found out what aircraft they did their sim checks on - perfect, now I will target my MCC accordingly. I spend about £1,000 more on my MCC than I would have liked, but hey it was worth it, because when I did my sim check it was a breeze, I passed the interview and the sim check, got offered the job and also got a bond for my type rating.
That's what I mean about being smart with your training, and without the Instructor's Rating on top the whole lot cost me about £49,000, this included all expenses, exam fees, headsets, maps yadda yadda. I also gained employment with no training debt whatsoever (lucky me).
Now if I could do it, trust me anyone can.
D777