Daytrader,
Bear in mind a higher Category with it's larger radii might also result in higher Circling Minimums.
Black_Dawn, I think Fireflybob makes some very good points. Also do you know how much power (fuel) it takes to fly level in a fully configured aircraft and how that would affect the approach climb performance. Maybe get your dispatch guys to run the numbers for you unless you guys use an OPC (onboard Performance Computer)then you can do it yourself.
I'm going to work tomorrow I'll put the numbers in the OPC and see what the results are. I'll let you know.