I think that your proposed modifications sound great - nice job!
The best advice that I can give you in terms of level design would be to make sure that each level has some sort of unique identifier. New types of challenges, enemies, obstacles, or powerups can massively help with this. Putting some time into playtesting and differentiating your levels (to figure out, from a player's perspective, how the level plays) can also give you some direction in how to design things.
I'm looking forward to seeing your final product!