The suggestion of a deeply strategic game is probably a remnant of earlier design concepts, in which that's what it was meant to be. Now, most of the choices are pre-set and asking between stark good (gain stats) and bad (lower 'em) options. The exact changes of the stats are, indeed, randomized, but the randomization is largely inconsequential in the wider scope of the game.
Sorry the nonsensical mish-mash of mechanics made it too hard to figure out what was going on. Thank you for playing, regardless!