Sometimes aspects just seem a little too static, i.e. tagging "grandpa taught me to shoot" gives just as much a damage bonus as pushing someone into a jet engine and tagging the "jet engine", or
It feels like my players have little need to find effective aspects, they just need to find any aspect. Sure a more effective one might be more likely to get the GMs thumbs up, but it seems to encourage mediocre thinking, and makes aspects feel rather monotone. One thought I had was making some aspects be worth a bigger bonus, but I don't know if that is a good idea. Anyone have any thoughts on this?

This especially annoys me in combat. Why bother with explosions, pushing people in front of trains, and dropping buildings on people when you can just tag your primary aspect, a phase aspect, and some minor enviromental one like "slippery floor" and get the exact same effect?

Starting up a new campaign in New Orleans and one of my players has decided to be a cop that is Marked by Power. Basically made a bit of a deal with the devil. The campaign revolves around the wealth of old power in the area (lots of ley lines, wellsprings, places of power, and old artifacts), a long standing treaty that has kept the various power in the area from fighting for the past hundred year, and the recent instability caused by the rise in supernatural phenomenon and new groups moving into the area.

The devil in this case is some shadow creatures (think Princess and the Frog), who granted him the power to take someone down in exchange for becoming their Emissary. He doesn't know what they are, or what their goals are, and tries to avoid deepening his debt, but obviously the story going to make it a difficult choice. Basically he is Marked by Power and has some sponsored spell-casting abilities.

I don't want these things to be strait evil like demons, or wholly benevolent, and I need some ideas for their motives and goals. What kind of things are they going to compel him on?

I've currently got two lines of thought on the subject:

As I research Louisiana folklore the most likely candidates are the Loup Garoux/Rougoroux (not the were-wolves). Shadow creatures and tricksters. They are noted for helping shuck oysters (though they eat quite a few if they help), scaring people, and getting overly attached to a single person for years as a kind of silent stalker, though they leave if they are caused to bleed.

My second idea is that they are a manifestation of the id of the the area given life. Hundreds of years of conflict, pain, hopes and dreams combined with massive amounts of ambient magic, wellsprings, etc. have begin to manifest as a semi-sentient spirit. Being the id (emotions, lusts, and instinctual drives) they would compelling him (calling in debts) in accordance to the emotional drives of the denizens of the area (past and present): murderous vengeance (whether deserved or not), occasionally compassion, hedonism, etc. The city defending what it is, sometimes in 'good' ways (taking vengence on killers, etc.) and in 'bad' ways (moralists and politicians trying to 'clean up' the french quarter').

But the second idea (though I like it) feels like my own invention instead of an organic growth of traditional folk-tales, like the first.

Any thoughts? Ideas i've missed?