Obviously, the GEO is probably the most expensive, with HEO being close to it,
Not necessarily. A small package on Intelsat may be significantly more affordable than Eagle. On the other hand, putting everything from Eagle on Intelsat would likely be more expensive. There are also considerably different risks. Eagle has all the things we've been good about messing up previously, and a Intelsat rideshare has almost none. As Bob B said earlier...there are several tradeoffs to consider, and let me say even the BOD doesn't have the full details to consider yet.
Personally, I'm in favor of doing whatever project gets us on station with long distance comms first, without breaking the piggybank, or too much risk. It is, without a doubt, a very difficult and complicated decision.
73, Drew KO4MA