Canton 3.0 is definitely worse to Holland than latest version, maybe too nice to Russia, although everyone else is reasonably balanced. I was probably looking at this one too much, with its starting A Bor; Malaysia is definitely Holland's in the current version unless many strange risks are taken.
Regarding the latest version, my opinion of the best to worst:
China: fastest start, outstanding central access to board SCs, but most targetable nation
France: compact expansion, good access to victory SCs
Russia: remote home centres but good long-term options, 4sc start, might not be enthousiastically targeted but spread thin
Britain: probably second only to China for safe early expansion
Japan, Holland, Turkey: lower tier, harder/longer to solo, fewer safe expansion SCs, but safer corner positions (especially Turkey) which might be more important
Maybe there could be more going on south of Turkey, pulling Turkey in a possibly difference direction and maybe brewing a three way naval conflict (Tur-Bri-Hol).
On the changes discussed above:
- switch Pek Sha: not a huge difference (Japan can force Formosa if it wants to), might even be slightly better for Japan since it weakens China's hold over south China against France
- F Bag: again, only slight difference, main first-year target is coastal adjacent anyways
- F Hue: considerably weakens French influence over Siam, might give Japan a boost by tying up Chinese coast while not greatly challenging Japanese Pacific power, and slows Holland of course.
- A Pek: again, like F Bag, F Pek is likely going for the adjacent Manchuria anyways, so probably not a huge change
- East Africa, SC?: slight boost to Turkey, a target for Britain
Some other ideas:
- Make Can effectively a strait, just easier
- connect ASE to Mad, to make Bag and Mad closer to each other
- remove Afg SC, in favour of Ceylon or East Africa SC
- Neutral Tibet SC: probably not a huge change, Britain and France pretty busy with other local SCs
- No Tibet SC, or no Korea SC, or "North Korea" (Busan SC): moves China from early top contender to just early top tier
- Tur SC, no Afg SC: Boost to Russia, weakens Britain
- Ceylon SC: hotly contested between Britain and Holland, slight boost to both
- Brits in HKO: too annoying to China, too many British units, unless that's a good thing
- no Cam SC: hurts France too much