Well, here is my opinion.
I voted for the 1st option
It really makes sense to use React along with Flux architecture. I won't recommend using React with AngularJS, although some developers claim that it increases the performance. React is already well optimized and performs really well.
The virtual DOM technique is what makes React so fast. Due to virtual DOM it's able to quickly compute the diff and update the part of the UI accordingly. So, there is no reason you should be averse to it.
The Flux architecture is beautiful. It gives your app a solid architecture and thereby helps you avoid writing messy JavaScript code. React and Flux architecture is being widely used in big platforms like Facebook, Instagram etc. So, it's a proven strategy and design pattern. There are also several Node modules available that let you implement Flux architecture without making significant efforts. I would say just go for it, learn it and it will pay off.
We have settled with React+Flux for one of our new projects. Moreover, React apps render on server as well which is a big plus.You don't get this benefit anywhere else.