Ones I've seen seems to favor heavy for the management company.

Do you know the townships that are most favorable?

We are talking hundreds of thousands of dollars in favor of Cali landlords.

Financing the rest when I run quick calculations the numbers seem to work pretty well in my favor.  

I think you are in a very favorable situation as it is.

Multiple exit strategies increase the ways you can win and decrease the ways you can lose, thus tilting the odds in your favor.

Would any of these courses, or some that i did not mention, work significantly in my favor? 

both of these options are not very favorable to you.have you even checked out the validity of the whole deal? 

Now you do have to be very selective in choosing your provider, and make sure they are reputable, doing nice rehabs in good areas, and working with, or have in house, property management that excels.Finally there is another route you haven't considered, and one which I am currently favoring in my own investment strategies.  

It depends on the deal, and if numbers work, I would talk to seller if he can loan the down payment at some favorable terms.