Peter, that does sound very "Rolemaster"; you have nothing if you didn't spend the DP. I also like the fact that it's not dependent on level.
OTOH, it's also another example of "oh, you didn't know that you had yet another skill to develop to be effective in this game?"
For my game, these skills will be very rare; like Adrenal Defense. Not everyone will have access.
For example: If you are a Northern Barbarian whose culture is entirely anti-essence.. then you can spend DP on Essence Resistance. (Conversion from the old, original Unearth Arcana)
But every game is different.