Shooting handguns well takes a lot of hard work. Grip is possibly the most fundamental thing of all. So, #1 is the way to go for sure. #2 is a no-go because building other skills on a suboptimal grip will become more problematic. “What works for me” isn’t important until you get to a much higher level. Until then, stick to technique accepted by the top shooters.
You’re already off to a good start by being self-critical and asking for advice.
Edit to address question above: don’t worry too much about interfering with the slide stop. Just shoot for a while and get used to the new grip. Watch how your sights track in recoil. (Straight up and down is good.) Then, you can figure out of there’s a problem with the slide stop.