I see where your coming from YodaMan, although I love how GTA Online is this savage utopia where players can kill and steal from each other for personal gain but are also rewarded for working together I've often thought about how hard it would be for someone to start GTA Online now at level 1 and work their way up.
I feel like Red Dead Redemption's Multiplayer was a far more even playing field, they didn't have the stats system that GTA Online has so everyone had the same Health, Accuracy, Stamina etc. Weapons were unlocked by level but you could also pick up weapons (either from Gang Hideouts or the dead bodies of players and NPCs) and use them from session to session until you quit multiplayer or the game, there was also no tanks, jets etc only horses and a handful of vehicles all of them being horse powered and susceptible to bullets.
It's impossible to know how Red Dead Online will pan out, for me personally a lot of Red Dead Online's appeal will depend on the community that plays it. I'm hoping for a fairly mature audience, such was the case with Red Dead Redemption that had far less kids on it than Grand Theft Auto V.
I think Red Dead Redemption II will be a must have game for the Singleplayer Story alone and certainly not a waste of money but if Red Dead Online is all you want from Red Dead Redemption II then I'd suggest waiting on more information from Rockstar.