Bearing in mind the current position of the industry, in your position I would do CPLSE, SEIR and then upgrade to MEIR. You'll get plenty of complex experience on the CPL course.
I did the CPL, MEIR route and pay through the nose for an annual. While I appreciate money isn't an issue, why pay for an annual IRME reval. until you need it? It's a bit like renewing your Class I; reassuring but useless.
FTOs. will give you the 'no MEIR, no job' BS, but there ain't no jobs out there at the moment, just the instructors/marketing depts. keeping theirs.