After doing research for the past couple of months, I've decided I would like to start building a team in Columbus Ohio and start with a single family rental home within this year.I'm currently a civil engineer in the construction industry in LA.

Buy SINGLE STORY properties.  

I remember a BP Podcast where the guest was speaking about a single commercial loan that wrapped a few properties and also had an equity line of credit attached that he could draw from.

(That is single family homes.

We are looking for a single family, duplex, or four-plex if the right one is out there and the numbers work!

Basic training is at Lackland Air Force Base, and there is a graduation nearly every single weekend of the year.

I can't shake this feeling of throwing money down the drain every month on rent but if it makes sense to go with Option 2, I will happily go that route as well. 

I guess my first incorrect assumption was that this llc would be treated as a disregarded entity just as a single member llc was. 

Might there even be differences between a single family home, 2-4 units, and  5+ units in those areas?

Very little, we own 45 total houses that we rent, 2 4-plexes, a 3, 5, and 6 mobile home park, and the rest single family.