To answer the question about the heater hose, yes it will help IMHO. the stock system simply pulls coolant off the back of the head which is not a bad thing but it then returns it to the inlet of the water pump. I'm sure some heat is pulled from that coolant but not near as much cooling as the radiator will do.
I use a stock shroud, a Hayden severe duty clutch fan, and all the factory filler panels. I also fabbed up some filler panels at the radiator support because I do not have the masticated panels in place. Also, I used foam insulation around the radiator where the shroud does not contact the radiator which is on all four sides really.
Results are I rarely see anything close to 200 and usually hangs around 185 or less and that's with the a/c on.
That fan clutch is tight though, but its a clutch so I don't know how much it drags at WOT especially at higher rpms. No doubt temp dependent as well. But if I was concerned I have a cheap clutch that is very loose by comparison if I wanted to swap it out for that extra 10th.