I don't see how Order of the Cloud Serpent rep has anything to do with being a persistent subscriber. Even without the double rep token it's by far the shortest of the rep factions to get to exalted. With the token it only takes a couple of days (if you get a few eggs). As far as time investments go, it's not much of a loss.
i agree, the heavenly azure one is really cool and i want it
Depending on how busy your server is why not farm the eggs, piss easy getting to exalted that way on an alt or even for a 1st time.
I doubt many people farm them anymore so why not give that a go.
As for the mounts they make me sea sick, they look cool but the bouncing up and down then sideways is not for me.