See my post here: anymak:END - my final keyboard layout, why and how :-)
Also scroll down in the thread to 3 articles which can help you to understand what to look for in an alternative layout – if you decide to go for it. IMO this is the last steps one can do, but more important are a navigation and shortcut layer, possibly an extra symbol layer and bottom-row-mods (which I think are better for most people than home-row-mods).