If I understand correctly, option 2 means parking Tides for now and starting something completely new.
You seem to have everything planned out and have a good idea of what the sequels would be. Since we are already invested in the story, I am going with option 1.
Even if option 2 were another game in the Tides world, I would rather continue with the current story, at least until we reach a point where it makes sense for the story to stop.
Also, for me, I don't mind waiting longer if I know it's being worked on, as I know the situation is different for every dev and not everyone is getting rich from this. Of course, not many people on this forum see it this way and might be less patient.