Hi Julie,
I have the answer from a UX design perspective but it's not the answer you are hoping for:
In essence if you go down the track of SAP Business Client 6.0 (new name for NWBC) then there's an option in there to have the FLP as the landing page. Navigation in this version from Tiles to SAPGUI transactions is supported for thick client, and it effectively does away with Portal style navigation. i.e. Use of Intents rather than OBN (kind of at least) .
Best bet is to look at the Fiori Roadmap and Strategy presentation from SAP (or possibly the roadmap or post on SCN about NWBC 6.0).
The launchpad will look pretty messy for a system admin person who has everything, but most people should end up with a launchpad that has under 20 or so links (allegedly). On top of this though, I believe the Overview Page (only recently available and still being enhanced with more features) is where aspects such as HANA style KPI dashboards linking to transactions and analysis to action style tiles will end up in the future UX designs.
You know where to find me if you need more help with this 
.
Cheers,
Matt