To be honest it was really too hard for me to understand your second point (english is not my native language so that could it be). So I only can comment on your first point.
And I agree with it.
Yesterday I created my two chars and I couldn't find a fitting portrait. I would love to see the technic from other games like World of Warcraft or Guild Wars 2 (I know both MMORPGs ^^) here in D:OS. A 3D-rendered picture of my actual character. If its to much of a workload to do a live picture with equipment a simple screenshot at the end of character customization would be enough for me.
