basically use the special abilities track as a talent tree? Yeah, that'll work.
There are a few ways too take it. The abilities aren't usually very good. I'd probably rather have a bonus feat than DR 1 from Elite Trooper. You could make a talent that gives DR 2. You could make a feat that gives DR 1 and take it with your bonus feats. You could say that you can replace your bonus feat with a prestige ability if it fits your character. Or you could keep PrCs. The only thing that really matters are force techniques. Just find a way to include those as a sort of metamagic.
