Your musings on Rand and the nature of his character arc made me think of the similarities to Frodo. Particularly how, like Frodo’s Wheel of Fire, Rand’s need to channel as the Dragon Reborn was a burden he was happy to shed. Also like Frodo, Rand was the savior but the accolades and the enjoyment of the aftermath would fall to others. Not him. It sounded better in my head.

As to your choices, you chose well. I agree with the idea that Rand was much smarter than anyone gave him credit for being, especially with regard to his grasp of the Prophecies. He was less wrong in his interpretations than anyone else. He also did pretty damned well at outsmarting the Forsaken and dealing with the various crises he had to face. For a farm boy.