I definitely agree that Lana getting counselling would be a good thing for her character, but I think one unintended consequence you're overlooking is the power of the pink: if Lana gets counselling, that probably means that counselling becomes trendy in SV, rather than Lana being stigmatized for it.

I'm confused as to the timeline of scenario 2: is Lex's anti-alien tear set in season 5 or 6? Because as far as I know, Lex already is the hero of his own story; he is being motivated by the justifiable fear of aliens, even given his lack of memory of precisely what happened when he was Zod.

Or do you mean he'd be the hero to the viewer? Or that you just want a more overt battle between between Lex and Clark? Or just the power balance shifted between them? ::is confused::