Doing your CFII initial is the way to go. A lot of guys, myself included, went that route. Your initial ride is done with the FSDO and doing a double eye with them is much easier and less stressful. All your doing is another IRA checkride but from the right seat. They won't test on any of the regular CFI stuff and complex stuff....it's just a straight forward instrument ride. That being said, your checkride could still consist of a 6 hour oral and 3 hour flight, but that depends on the location and inspector. Good luck.