But maybe, to start off, the villagers should have a more balanced ratio of male-to-female villagers. Later, when a couple of generations down, breeding with one's cousin (or whatever) starts to happen, then they should have built up enough Tech Points for the suggestion of the wharf and raft to come into play.

I think those are good ideas, myself.

I simply like selective breeding, because, in VV2 and VV3, you can actually breed for certain characteristics, like blue eyes, red hair, other hair colors, etc. I like the purple hair and pink hair, and like to breed for that.