The ideas have a lot of merit and I can't say whether or not they are good or detrimental...just to be careful. Proto-stomping is a problem right now, but we also don't want players who invest the isk and sp (and thus the time to get there) to feel like their efforts are meaningless.

Some points to consider...

CCP WILL have Aurum gear at all levels - when you directly increase stats of gear, so too do you increase AURUM stats rendering sp less valuable. Players who invest sp should get more out of their suits than someone who swipes the credit card. Vice Versa, Aurum users should feel their cash investment is performing at the same base level as whatever they bought.

EX: Prototype Caldari Medium Frame vs. Aurum Prototype Caldari Medium Frame
-Both should have the exact same statsbefore skills.
-If a player who has skilled into the frame runs into a player who has also skilled into the frame, but is running the aurum version, the match should be even by virtue of sp. If the player who skilled into a frame runs into a player who has not skilled the frame but is running its aurum version, the player with skills should have the advantage by virtue of skill bonuses.

Power Creep is dangerous and while proto suits and their aurum equivalents should be strong, CCP has done well to ensure that militia gear (the bottom of the scale) does have some chance, however slim, of succeeding. This is the fine line both DUST and EvE walk in skill vs. gear - the goal is for players with skill to be able to triumph over players with gear and no skill, and vice versa, a player with gear has the chance to triumph over a player with skill IF they are in inferior or strategically inferior gear (ex. an aum proto HMG vs a rail rifle at range - or an aur proto rail rifle vs. std nova knives).

Simply be sure to keep this in mind as you propose stat changes. I do imagine CCP is trying to eventually get all skillbooks to have meaning (not be sp sinks).

I'll give it a reread - as someone just said though, do clarify. Again - I'm not against it just providing insights to be cognizant of.

Right now my main concern is proto gear (keep in mind skills right now are % base, so gear can exponentially become powerful hence me comment on power creep). You could run the risk of stretching the scale so far that advanced equipment is annihlated by virtue that proto equipment requires lvl 5, and thus full bonuses.

If all you're doing is switching the bonus to the suit and the skill has no meaning except as a modifer like you describe...this seems more like an argument on just looking at it differently with the same result. That's developer resources spent on accomplishing nothing...no offence, please tell me if I'm reading wrong. But, what I'm seeing is you're providing a solution to a problem not there. Again, don't get prickly - help me understand.

The current skill system is built around the model they know (EvE) where skills modify the stats of the items directly as well as unlock the equipment. The equipment itself in no way is changed without the corresponding skills. Assault suits don't need to have a built in bonus, the skill itself does this - if you wear X suit this skill provides Y bonus to modules on it based on Z level of skill. Personally I think it makes perfect sense and changing it isn't warranted.

Now your points on basic frames are great and they do need some improvement. As I said before, I imagine the stats on the basic suits are fine - the problem is that the 'standard' skill (such as Caldari Medium) does nothing for those suits. Just keep in mind that if you have this apply up the line, like in EvE, the benefit is not even. It's exponential. The medium frame and its advanced parts (the logi and assault) do both get this bonus...which means they are still aligned per normal, but you then add ANOTHER bonus to the assault and logi pushing them much further out...creating a potential (not a guaranteed but possible) imbalance...and screwing the basic suits back to where they are now. Wasted development.

I totally agree basic suits should be more utilitarian - my personal opinion is that their stats are fine but their cost is not. I think basic suits should be our 'new' militia suits after we're established as a player and function as utilitarian economy suits for when the battle is so far gone or we're expecting significant clone loss to secure an objective (like bunker busting) where TTK far outweighs the benefit of the better gear and its cost due to combat conditions.

I don't understand why a basic costs MORE than an assault variant - you're penalizing a lower sp player economically, which doesn't make sense as that slows growth. A lower sp player should want to use basics to help pad their wallet (and sp) as they work towards the assault. The assault will cost more in this model, but with it comes the gains of better performance and thus better pay - covering its cost and then some. i.e. progression in sp should lead to progression in gear should lead to progression in isk gain to cover it all.

EX: You've got to bust a bunker. You WILL die. A lot. Your TTK with the basic is 4 seconds. Your TTK with the proto is 5. TYhis is not at all unusual and you see it often. Is that extra second worth the 50k+ isk you're about to blow? Probably not - in comes the utility of having basic suits on standby. This is a tactical reason for basics - keeping them relevant to veterans as well as new players.

Food for thought.

Bad Grammar is Bad...had to figure what you meant