Then, I'm using that potential gross revenue and taking 30% for expenses, which essentially means I'm reducing revenue by a total of about 55% before debt service.

This seems to be the most important thing for my wife at the moment, not cashflow or the other benefits of Owner-Occupied SMF properties.

You can essentially let a home sit from spring to fall without any major issues coming up due to the weather.

One of the benefits of investing in such a tenant-friendly state (sarcasm) 

I dont think there is any benefit to charging yourself rent. your rental business income is taxed as pass through to your personal taxes.

If someone is willing to live with family or in a homeless shelter they could potentially invest near 100 percent of their income and certainly benefit more in the long run compared to owning a primary residence.

I have to disagree with you on this one while I operate currently under my personal name and have an umbrella policy, the article you linked explained the benefits of not doing a LLC from the perspective of being a owner occupant.

(Myself included) essentially they tie up 1500 dollars a month over an average of 30 years.

In other terms, if you plan on holding this long-term, you're essentially front-loading your mortgage costs with a 10-15 year loan.

You are essentially stuck until you reach retirement age or separate from service.