> has it been considered yet to simply support an optional
>
>   ~/.emacs.d/pre-package-init.el

Yes. I suggested this on a previous thread (before starting this one) and someone complained of yet another file affecting emacs behaviour. Then I suggested the streamlined version of that in the first email of this thread (having a file that delays initialization, but doesn't actually get evaluated), and the few responses I got still preferred the other option.