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I was thinking of radically changing how Knowledge skills work.

1) Scrap all Knowledge skills
2) Add the following skills: Lore, Streetwise
3) For 1 skill point, a character can buy a Knowledge. Having an applicable knowledge gives +5 to a relevant skill roll when trying to recall information. E.g. Knowledge *(Sandpoint), Knowledge (Forests), Knowledge (Abjuration), Knowledge (Chelaxian Nobility), Knowledge (Outsiders). A relevant knowledge can also add +2 complimentary bonus to relevant non-Lore skill checks (e.g. Knowledge (Abjuration) when using Spellcraft to identify a spell from that school).
4) PCs without a relevant Knowledge cannot Take 10 on a Lore check.

Arcana - use Lore (for pure information) or Spellcraft
Dungeoneering - Lore or Survival with relevant knowledge
Engineering - Lore
Geography - Lore
History - Lore
Local - Streetwise (or Diplomacy for gather information)
Nature - Lore or Survival
Nobility - Lore or Diplomacy
Planes - Lore or Spellcraft
Religion - Lore

Because Lore can be used unskilled, it is possible that PCs could now make Lore rolls where previously they wouldn't be able to. As such, a GM can rule that certain checks require a relevant specialism before a roll can be made.

Thoughts?

p.s. I'm also considering treating professions and crafts in the same way, but less sure about that.

It seems like one of the major concerns with high level casters is their ability to unbalance the action economy through contingencies, time stops, quickened spells and so forth. The most common fix seems to be the desire to enhance other classes' action economies, just as PF's fix to weaker classes (Sorcerer, Fighter) was to add more abilities.

I'm beginning to think this escalating arms race of power is going in the wrong direction. How about simply increasing Casting Time for higher levels spells, and tweak Quicken Spell Metamagic. E.g. split spells into 5 tiers: 0, 1-3, 4-6, 7-8, 9. By default, casting time for spells in each tier is Move Action, Standard Action, Full Round, 2 Rounds, 3 Rounds (casting as Move action doesn't allow 2 spells to be cast in a round, although it would allow a wand to be used)

Then tweak Quicken Spell, such as:
Quick Spell, Variant 1: Casting time reduced by 1 step for every +3 levels (or 2 steps for +6 levels). 1 Step down from Move Action is a Swift Action.

Quicken Spell, Variant 2: Two feats, Lesser Quicken Spell, +2 levels per step down, levels 0-2 only; Greater Quicken Spell, +3 levels per step, levels 3+.

This also has a powerful narrative / game play effect, because rather than the caster blowing encounters away in the first round, instead you have a titanic struggle as the melee fighters try to keep the enemy at bay long enough for the casters to bring out the big guns. It also nullifies part of the concerns about balance issues between casters and grunts, because they have very clear and discrete roles at different stages of an encounter. And it also introduces tougher strategic decision-making for casters about whether to throw a Fireball in right away, or take a bit longer to throw down Chain Lighting.

I know some people aren't keen on static initiative scores, but equally some (myself included) really don't like the slowing down that occurs from re-rolling initiative every round.

Here's one option: roll initiative once at the start of the combat. Every round, add each characters' initiative bonus to their initiative score.

Eventually the fastest characters will end up going first, and the slowest characters will end up going last. What this doesn't do is allow a character the random opportunity of suddenly reacting faster than their opponents, but for that there is Delaying / Readying.

Alternative 2: for a Move action, you can add your Initiative bonus to your current initiative score.

Alternative 3: As Alternative 2, but make it a Combat Feat.