If it had to be one of those two options, I'd go with 1. So that when you start parties they don't just get captured by bandits before they can recruit any troops. And also so the player is kind of playing by the same rules as everyone else.
Would it be possible to make it a toggle? Like something you could set in clan or parties screen? Because I can see why some people would want to have clan members be able to pick up some extra troops even if it's not always ideal.
Exactly what I was describing before. And it'd with even with 0 focus points in smithing. You gain xp for your character level even after your multiplier for a skill you use is 0 because it's just going off raw xp.