Well if the RN had had it's way over carrier aircraft development in the interwar years then there probably wouldn't have been Sea Gladiators in front line service. The Vickers Venom is often suggested as a big WI for the FAA, with a modified wing design it could have been a very effective fighter. Even a properly developed Seafire would have been a big improvement over the Fulmar.
The Japanese showed that if you massed your carriers and had enough powerful aircraft then you could overwhelm land based airpower, certainly off Norway in 1940 had the RN had better fighters then they could have denied the Germans air superiority. The 110's used in that campaign had a good time against a piece of crap like the Gladiator. But the Battle of Britain proved that against high performance fighters like the Spitfire and Hurricane and without the 109 to help out it was easy meat.
As to what I'd have given up, I wouldn't have put so much effort into heavy bombers, strategic bombing had an important role to play but the return it produced in terms of resources committed and aircrew lost it wasn't justified.
well, you gave up the victory... but in the med your large fast carriers will be sunk anyway
just try this scenario: Pearl with the american airforce fully alerted.
do you think the japanese had had succsess? How many losses will they have?
and here we have the superior japanese zero against inferior P40...
in the med-scenario you have superior me109 against what ever (hurricanes at best)
because the brits lacked any long range fighter, they will have only short range hurries, so they are fully in the range of german medium bombers, just - because they are so large and need so much planes they cannot be so armored, to be sunk. the illustrious was seriously damaged, with armored deck - no think about some large non armored akagi-style carriers.... whooopppp
the stratetic bombers are needed to do something, without a large industry here, the germans will produce more, will need less heavy guns to defend the cities and free around 200.000 men. They will produce a lot ammo for artillery (the time fuse was expensive, normal artillery shells are much easier to produce)... so more ammo for the germans in the east... ouch.
better planes for the navy means hurricanes, no real improvement
maybe the germans loose more me110, they still will win here... but maybe avoid to use the me110 in the bob, so it is a big surplus for the germans...