Aevu,
I have been following this thread with a mixture of irritation and sympathy. My irritation stems from ypour apparent diffidence and lack of commitment over taking this step whilst I am sympathetic to anyone agonising over such an important decision. It is not surprising therefore that the replies that you have attracted have fallen into two distinct camps, the give it a go you have nothing to lose lobby versus the don't waste your and others time.
So let me address the commitment issue by way of a start. Forget the 'rigours' of and your aversion to IOT. I agree that it will probably be uncomfortable, aggravating and downright childish at times. Just regard it as a hoop that you have to jump through in order to achieve your goal. If you genuinely want to be an RAF officer and pilot you will easily rise above it. I am more concerned at your current lack of commitment. You will need to have determination and total self-belief to negotiate the various and increasingly challenging phases of flying training. I spent several years training prospective fast-jet pilots in their latter stages and those without commitment were soon apparent to we instructors and thus were unlikely to get much support. On the other hand those totally determined but struggling would be encouraged and helped throughout.
I do sympathise with your apprehension but if it doesn't feel right, don't do it. I do not subscribe to the give it a go lobby. Without your determination to be a pilot you may well not succeed and thus will be wasting precious years of your early life. It is however a wonderful life and how anyone can compare the satisfaction of flying a military fast jet with being a systems monitor in a civil people carrier is beyond me. If your concern is over job satisfaction have no fears. The pluses far outweigh the minuses and such 'minuses' as to where bases are located etc are trivial in comparison.
So, how much do you want it? I rather suspect from such things as your concern over IOT, pay, base location etc not that much but I may be judging you harshly. If you are keen to succeed, people will generally want to help you but indifference is a no-no. You should by now, hopefully, have had enough feedback from us here to make your decision.