1. Yeah, that's a problem, I guess, so Firaxis would have to either re-balance tech for this (not likely) or stick them in existing researches, making those even higher priority. (Or ideally they release mod tools and official mod support with no more .exe patching so I can do this myself. I'd love to run a CQC team in the early game with UMP-45's and a shotgun or two when some massive damage is needed.)
2. Any ideas on what sort of problems you'd like to deal with?
Battuta, I've never played the original, so I can't really say how diverse weapons were in it. I probably should, but I'm really not that interested since we have this one.
Starslayer, I would definitely love a pack that did actual authentic accents for my soldiers and more diverse locations.