as for the proposal of just 1.05mb or 1.25mb.. that is also a short term thing that wont deter the oliver twist scenario for as long
It would put bitcoin on a different path, maybe.
segwit is dangerous and unnecessary at this point.
They don't want to do both. It's Blockstream's way or the highway. If something goes wrong, they will just declare "Bitcoin can't scale" and blame it all on bitcoin. Wow. Amazing leadership guys!
It doesn't matter. It is not eternal. The sudden hard fork option is always waiting.
A hard fork should not be taken lightly, ergo will take time but is unstoppable and sudden(ish) when achieved. (predictably out of desperation)