Okay, under 3.5 rules the Half Orc had...what a +2 to STR and CON and a -2 to CHA. The Half Elf had...um...a +2 to INT and DEX and a -2 to CON. Is that correct? I believe so.
So far from the truth. Half-elves had NO racial adjustments. Half-orcs had +2 str, -2 cha, -2 int.
Yeah, your house rule is your house rule. If it works for you and your players, that's great.
Me, I like the idea of the part-humans gaining the human's stat modifier. It's like getting a portion of the human parent's flexibility while also gaining some other special abilities derived from their non-human heritage.
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Also, in the Advanced Race Guide, we are given insight on how to create a Half-orc, a Half-elf, or a custom race of your own design.
If Half-elves and Half-orcs received +2 to two different stats, with no corresponding penalty to a third stat, it would probably raise their "race points" unfairly higher than the other Core races.
My question is why did Pathfinder under their new basically 3.75 rules system give the two 'mixed' races the same +2 to drop in any stat of their choosing like a Human and that's all?
Pathfinders design assumed that all character races should start with a net +2 to their stats and that when possible/appropriate there shouldn't be a negative if possible.
They also assumed that things crossed with humans or 'half breed races' were versatile species (which to some extant mimics real world biology).
As such they received a +2 to one statistic of their choice, both to reflect these concepts and to make them more attractive races to play for ANY class. Where before they were mainly only used for certain ones classes you could now play them as any class and have a good main stat for that class, thus increasing the amount of them in play and expanding RP opportunities as well