What are the best visa options for a New Zealand couple planning to retire in Thailand, considering one spouse is under 50?

Hi everyone, my wife (44 years old) and I (51 years old), both New Zealand citizens / residents are planning to retire to Thailand in a couple of months and wanting to sanity check our approach with this group given my wife is under 50.

Firstly I'll apply for the Non-O Retirement from New Zealand so that I can easily open a bank account in Thailand upon arrival, deposit the THB 800k, and then apply for the 1 year extension.

As for my wife, the two options based on advice from visa agencies and forums appear to be as follows:

Option 1. Travel to Thailand visa exempt, apply for ED granted for a stay of 90 days, extend once for a further 3 months, then apply to change to a Non-O dependent (on my Non-O Retirement).

The issue we're finding with the ED is that schools seem to be catering only for DTV now and not supporting ED. I expect we'd also not be able to leave the country and travel until the conversion to Non-O dependent is complete and immigration appear to be taking a dim view of people on ED visas travelling when they should be studying. But the ED duration is intended for only 6 months so that's not really an issue.

Option 2. Apply for the DTV from New Zealand based on Thai soft power activities. The 5 year duration of the visa will be sufficient to cover the period until my wife is 50 at which point she can apply for the non-O Retirement.

The concern with the DTV is the soft power category seems to have a lot of problems with immigration based on the forum posts, particularly when reentering the country. This creates the risk she will be denied entry.

Greatly appreciate your expert opinion as to the best approach given the current lay of the land in Thailand right now. Thanks!