Totally agree with adding variance to the level up rolls. One issue with this though is that under the current system a lot of players would be tempted to savescum if they received bad rolls when leveling up.
Well to each his own, but I think simple and direct is a lot less effective when one of the goals of the game is the player creating a story using his brothers. Having their abilities be defined along multiple dimensions rather than just melee/ranged, good/bad is a great way to add additional personality to the brothers.
