Excellent. That sums things up very nicely for now. With that as a base, I can search a little more confidently if I get to an area I want to pursue.
I kind of like first gear in the dogleg position. My stream of consciousness led me to thinking about a real low first and using second through fifth as most would use first through fourth in a four-speed. (I kind of like it in 914s as well as I can see second through fifth being "driving gears" and first as a "get started" gear.)
Anyway, thanks for the valuable information. It's going into my folder.