Another good article, Joe. I like the addition of opening hands to these, it's something that has increased relevance to Vintage games compared to other formats, and it should help generate discussion. On these hands:
Ravager Shops #1 - Agree with keep. Lead on Tomb + Emerald --> Sphere, follow up will depend on what opponent plays, but having lots of options is nice.
Ravager Shops #2 - I definitely wouldn't go down to 5 here, I think this hand is keepable. I'm really torn on whether to send back Ballista or Ravager, but I think I agree that Ravager is the right one to push to the bottom. I'd sequence this with Tomb + Lotus --> Stonecoil for 3, followed by Sphere to get both disruption and a clock on the board. Unfortunately, this line only allows for a Ballista for 1 on turn two, so maybe this isn't the right line. Curious what others would do.
Golos #1 - Agree this is a keep, should keep your opponent disrupted long enough to draw more action. Tomb --> Thorn is probably how I open with this hand, though that does leave you pretty vulnerable to Wasteland.
Golos #2 - Even on the draw, I think this is a keep. Trinisphere is still disruptive enough even if your opponent gets the first turn that I'd keep it and lead with that. Following up with back to back Golos's on the next couple turns should give you a big mana advantage to leverage for the rest of the game.
@revengeanceful great response. that's the idea is to generate some discussion.