FWIW, I’m interested in watching your progress on this.
I have not yet even begun to dabble with any AI APIs, but I really should start learning about what’s available, including edge AI approaches and tools.
I was not even aware of OpenRouter until I saw your note about using it - and so as a result I will need to jump down that rabbit hole (and others as well).
Your intended ‘bring your own AI to the party’ approach sounds like a great way to go.