I haven't looked at the saves, so I won't comment on them, but regarding the "schoolboy" comment, I'll say that I personally take the risk from the beginning without any issues. Let me explain why. The chance of getting a bonus is equally likely. The parameter and spell (parameter if there's no spellbook) are acceptable to me. That's 66%. In the remaining 33%, we'll get a secondary skill. About a third of those will be suitable for us. So, 77% of the time, the bonus will be acceptable. For me, this probability is sufficient to justify the risk.