I like the idea of non-attribute buffs -- again, it's harsh enough that half-orcs effectively lose two attribute points from character creation, but they get practically nothing in terms of such abilities. I play in a lot of games where point buy is a thing, and as a result attribute points are fairly fungible -- so half-orcs lose out, bigly.
I agree. This is exactly why Savage Worlds abandoned attribute modifiers, and why they are largely meaningless now in later GURPS and Hero editions. Because if attributes are fungible anyway, then the only thing the mods do is introduce min/max possibilities.
Unpacking that a little more...
I think in D&D-like games, attribute mods only work as intended if one is using roll-in-order. If you choose race and then do roll-in-order of attributes, then a +2 Dexterity and -2 Wisdom means that player characters of that race will have on average Dexterity 2 higher than normal, and Wisdom 2 lower than normal. But even so, there will be 20% of characters with higher Wisdom than Dexterity, in reverse of the average.
However, if you use roll-six-times-and-arrange, then the problem is that +2 in your high prime attribute is worth a lot more than -2 in your dump stat. So any player who takes this race will be more effective if they choose a Dex-favoring class, put a high number into Dex and a low number into Wisdom. So the only way they will do otherwise isn't random - it's because the player deliberately takes a less effective character to play against type.
Personally, I dislike introducing this sort of deliberate min-maxing within character creation. Some people see it as a feature that some PCs are more powerful than others, to encourage system mastery. But I think character creation is the wrong time for it. Player characters should start on an equal footing, and tactical decision making should be important during play, not before.