Offhand, I will say that I don't know a whole lot about fighters, so I will defer to your expertise. However, isn't the F-35 the only true "next gen" fighter available? From a (somewhat) layperson's perspective, maybe the best option is wait and see?
Have you considered interoperability in theatre? If all nations in a coalition are using the same fighter (one of the goals of the F-35 program), wouldn't there be money saved by common parts/weaponry, not to mention easier combined missions? (Potentially, at least... not sure if to a significant degree, since different fighters can still fly together, obviously.)
I do not agree that we should cut our fleet of Aurora's for UAVs. We should augment with UAVs, certainly, but there's a reason those planes are big - and hold lots of equipment and personnel onboard. Surveillance is more than just going out there and taking pics - you have to consider ASW as well, for one thing. I can't remember if our MPAs are fitted with torpedoes or not, but I do know it's a capability of the platform in general. Not sure if UAVs can do that... at least not yet.
Anyway, food for thought. Good read.