I quite like the sand spout idea, I can't see why it can't be added, also I think it's in the name as to where the ability can be used, otherwise it'd be called earth spout, jus sayin'...
I also agree, it would be a cool feature for earth armour to incorporate earth punch.
As for inventory bending, I understand the reasoning behind it, I own a server as well, and if I'm honest, whenever bottle bending is mentioned on the server it's normally frowned upon, no skill or logic at times, yup full moon surge from a bottle... (Also just to mention, we don't give out bottles, bottles are also banned from events due to the spammy usage and lack of skill)