The +2 in a stat seems indeed rather extreme.
I kind of like how WoW handled it all with small perks for each race.
I don't know though, I wouldn't play a dwarf to make him a mage, the racial traits does seems to make sense, and you have the whole "i don't want to be a fighter" shenanigan if you really want to push the RP that far. A min-maxer by definition does not care about playing roleplay, he just wants to be the best at one thing.
Pretty neutral on this topic, I understand that it can be bothersome without actually be that bored myself (I intend to play an undead with necromancy, i'm pretty sure it'll be ok...)
