The only advantage I see when you take the ball 1st is that if you put the other team in 4th and long, you force the other team's hand to either tie the game with a FG or punt if the game is tied, but you're in that exact scenario yourself if the other team puts you in 4th and long on your opening possession, so to me, it's just dumb the whole way around to receive 1st under the current rules.