I always enjoyed hunting for the best items with each new playthrough of BG 1 and 2, and it was always a major factor in how I planned my characters. Without that carrot at the end of the stick, I probably would have played those games much, much less. But is it the ideal way to handle weapons and items in the game? What do you think?
(edit: it should be noted that option 3 is just to hear if some people actually want that style of play, it has already been noted by devs that written histories for items will be in the game in some form, so this option is already technically ruled out.)