[Elfin]

The reason I'd prefer to keep them separate is because gold options are meant to be those that are absolutely essential to a warblade or particular build: as an example, while Stance Mastery is awesome, you could could still function without it. On the other hand, without maneuvers you're no longer a warblade.
Feat-wise, let's compare Leap Attack and Shock Trooper on a charger build. Leap Attack is amazing, providing you with an enormous damage boost - and yet Shock Trooper is absolutely critical, essentially negating Power Attack's drawbacks.