If Goons weren't there, I'd probably skip Familiar and just go for Vaults. But I think Goons counters that strategy well enough that you have to get Familiars. But I think opening double Forager and getting the Potion on the next $4 hand is probably better than opening Potion/Silver.
I think I would open Forager/Potion. Best of both worlds, though it does decrease your chances of getting Familiar on the second shuffle. Without Villages here, Goons points aren't going to be quite as important as green points. Even with Curses out, there's no easy three-pile.
This is more like worst of both worlds. If you're opening Potion, you need to do it with something that helps you get to $3P.
In general, with good trashing, I prefer to trash first, then get the Curser. One extra play of the Curser vs one extra trash seems like a wash, but you're actually moving first trash up from 3rd time through the deck to 2nd, and delaying the actual Cursing from 3rd time to 4th, and the earlier swing is better. And if the trashing is more than one card, then of course its even bigger.
Potion/Moat is better than Potion/Silver; Storeroom, Courtyard and Warehouse are the top three cards for getting $3+P, not counting Squire/Watchtower shenanegans. I did the calculation for Cellar but it looks like I forgot to post it before coming on holiday - if I recall correctly, it's between Moat and Warehouse. Cycling is good because if you do whiff, you see the Potion again sooner. Then again, I could be wrong, memory is a funny thing...
Also, I think once I have a Familiar, I'd rather have a Cellar than a Moat, though that's intuition.
But once my
opponent has a Familiar, I might prefer a Moat