I used your second option two year ago. The path I followed was:
Fly to Seattle and rent a car -> Banff -> Jasper -> Vancouver -> Seattle and return the car
Google Map link:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=I-5+N&daddr=HWY+93+to:HWY-1+E+to:47.591346,-122.299805&hl=en&geocode=Fdb21QIdiI21-A%3BFZbdJAMdTAT4-A%3BFaTEDAMdohga-Q%3B&mra=dme&mrcr=0&mrsp=3&sz=6&via=1,2&sll=49.368066,-119.816895&sspn=8.845772,14.172363&ie=UTF8&ll=50.205033,-119.003906&spn=8.694828,14.172363&z=6
Driving in Canada was not boring. The view along the path was pretty. I enjoy driving any way.
Your 1st option may save some time and energy. It's a good plan too.