Wow, those are also the top two items on my wish list. But I'll just add:
With regard to the global menu, I hope that an option will be included for displaying locally integrated menus (LIM) in the titlebar of unmaximized windows, like what can currently be done in Unity 7.
With regard the to the launcher, I too would prefer a more modular approach that, unlike with the current Unity 7 launcher, would facilitate replacing the launcher with a 3rd party dock, such as plank or docky or, my personal favorite, Glx-Dock / Cairo-Dock. But if that's not possible, then at least provide options for customizing the launcher to look like a proper dock.