Two of the last Imperial Palaiologoi were Andres and Constantine of Rome - the latter serving in the Papal Guard.
What I'm curious about is whether we could use these two characters for a "Roman Restoration" in some way. Andreas still claimed to be the rightful Roman Emperor and the Despot of Morea.
Could we have the Pope, or a number of Popes work with the Palaiologoi (who have to agree to Papal Supremacy, convert, etc) to effectively pull a Cesare decades earlier, but also succeed. By this I mean establish a standing Papal/Roman military that is independent of any of the existing Italian families and establish a bureaucratic rule where the Papacy funds the Bureaucracy and Army.
I think there is an opening, as at least according to Wikipedia the Papacy only had nominal control over much of its territory. I'm curious as to whether the Papacy, partnering with the Palaiologoi could effectively start unifying Italy much earlier than IOTL, and become one of the leading forces to fight against the Ottomans.