There's a second point in working with long term call options in stead of the stocks and that's the time decay... I'm buying ITM puts to pay as less expectation value as possible. If I would work with call options in stead of the stock, the dividend would have to ofset bot the time decay in the put and the call...
you dont buy the stock, just the call basic option principle: stock + long put = long call (its a bit more complicated than that with div, i know), you save commissions.
There was an interesting article on the Optionetics site back in Oct. that outlined just this strategy. If I remember they bought the dividend paying stock and a long term put at a slightly lower strike as insurance. Then they sold a higher strike front month call to help enhance the income. They added the price of the stock and the put and then totaled the dividend plus the short call to compare the potential monthly income. I believe the example stock was RJR.
interest on the long stock and a rise in interest rates is your biggest risk. however, sell upside near term calls against position each month will help hedge that.
====== I am sure you are aware of any risk to one stock; but second year of a bull market, which is now , might be one of the best years to do this . You are right about put premium being low now; and lots of reasons for that. And some of your money management the way you structered it rightly favors the long & medium trend also.