Personally, I would go with a 14 for now and then see how things pan out.  You are talking about a lot of expensive trials and errors to figure out what works for you.

We did a lot of that…at the government’s expense.

Related topics:
https://www.ar15.com/forums/Armory/Help-me-bridge-a-FLIR-monocular-and-a-PVS-14/18-542520/

https://www.ar15.com/forums/Armory/Stick-with-PVS-14-or-go-Anvis-9/18-542972/

On the night vision:
The majority of folks prefer dual tubes/binos so depending on how deep you got bit, if you're the "buy once cry once" type you may want to consider going that route. Starting with a -14, you will likely want to get another one to bridge, or get binos shortly down the road. We have dual tube systems like the RNVG with L3Harris unfilmed WP tubes for under $10k as well as more expensive systems. Going this route will set you back on a good thermal and/or good laser like a DBAL D2 or MAWL unless you raise your budget.

The conservative approach is to start with a PVS-14. Get the best tube you can - L3Harris unfilmed WP. We have PVS-14s with L3Harris unfilmed WP 2376+ FOM with a Limited Lifetime Warranty for $4k. This leaves room for a helmet, mount, laser, thermal, etc. etc. L3 has been killing it for some time and the tubes we se are VERY easy to match down the road. We can repurpose your PVS-14 (if L3 tube & purchased from TNVC) into a bino system to save you some money vs buying a new bino while maintaining the TNVC warranty. We do all of our work ourselves and have a dedicated build team professionally trained (including direct from L3Harris) with the proper tools whose sole job is to build, repair, and maintain night vision systems.

On the thermal:
The majority of folks will get far more use/utility out of a dedicated thermal than a COTI. Unlike the COTI, you can use the dedicated thermal without nods (including in daylight), and a good quality unit will provide far more DRI (detection, recognition, identification) capability. The role of the COTI/ECOTI is for rapid detection of humans while wearing night vision. This applies to most animals that are notably physically different (that's a horse or a cow or a deer etc) but especially at distance you won't have a great level of ID capability to know if you're looking at a coyote or a dog etc. A dedicated thermal with more magnification will be FAR superior in that regard.

If you want to go the COTI/ECOTI route and stick to American here are your options - the legacy COTI (AN/PAS-29A) although discontinued and no longer supported will pop on the used market from time to time (check the EE). We will be releasing the TAD (Thermal Augmentation Device) in Q3/Q4. It is essentially a lower cost commercial version of the ECOTI (AN/PAS-29B) but with the same thermal performance (actual slightly better). The ECOTI is available to order now but it more expensive and has features that only MIL can access & use hence the creation of the TAD per TNVC's request

Now, as to which dedicated thermal to choose, this can be another lengthy discussion. @KoreyKirsch

We have been in business over 30 years now (since 1992) and have sold NV since 1993.

The Photonis Vyper binos that were mentioned carry a 5 year warranty. Been some recent threads about them from purchasers here as well.

We have 3rd Gen PVS14s in stock, ready to ship, with high specification Elbit thin filmed tubes or 20UM Un filmed White phosphor L3 Harris tubes. RNVGs and Katanas in stock ready for immediate shipment with YH grade Elbit WP tubes or 20UM high specification L3 Harris un filmed tubes.

Feel free to email or call if you have any questions.

The MAWL is not without problems either.

On the DBALs, I've never had an issue losing zero with the old 9007s and the D2. Have one A3 that seemed to be a PITA to zero at the onset though.

I recommend reading the threads above because the answers you'll receive will be nearly identical.

With that said, your budget and use case will dictate the best recommendation for YOU. Also bear in mind that as you gain more experience using your gear, you may change your mind in terms of which gear suits your needs.

Feel free to shoot me a PM or give me a ring. Phone is better because we can cover more info more quickly.

With everything you are wanting to do, I would recommend going this route to get your feet wet.
Helmet setup with a L3Harris PVS-14 White Phosphor Milspec or Commercial Spec. The Commercial Spec will save you around $600. Get the mounting hardware, Wilcox L4 G24, Wilcox Bridge, and shoe kit for you PVS-14. Then I would get the Rl25 Micro so you can mount that on the bridge opposite of the PVS-14 and be able to scan at night with thermal. The RL25 can be used as a helmet mounted thermal monocular and a dedicated thermal rifle scope. You would need to get the pictail mount and the ADM MQD mount.
That way you can remove the RL25 from the bridge and attach it to the MQD mount that stays on the rifle.  It's not 100% ideal spotting a coyote with your helmet mounted thermal then removing it from your helmet and attaching it to your rifle, but it will get you started. You will have a solid helmet setup with a PVS-14 and RL25 if you ever want to upgrade to a dedicated thermal scope down the road. That will keep you well below your 10k budget.