Also note that FP's who have Ritual (Item Creation) can go longer without needing to upgrade to thaumaturgy than any other type of FP.
They can a +3, a +2 and a +1 (Yay for +3 Strength, +2 Uses and +1 Focus Items, thats some wicked potion brewing).
Actually, as written, no they can't. With Ritual and Channeling refinement only allows you to take focus items. You cannot take other bonuses for ritual or channeling as they do not have specializations and the refinement power specifically states that it is an upgrade to Evocation and Thaumaturgy.
On the subject of the comparison to sorcerers, the point of my question was ways for Focused Practitioners to advance without becoming Sorcerers. If the intention is to have a clear power progression of FP->Sorcerer->Wizard that's perfectly reasonable (and appears to be the case based on Iago's [Fred's?] comments). It just means I may have to house-rule\modify some ritual and channeling specific powers for my characters and games (because I agree with SRL51676's comments and ideas about someone who spends their life doing one specific thing doing it very very well).
