Can you expand more on why you'd want regular CRP over hs-CRP (specifically for cardiovascular risk)?

For homocysteine, one proxy is B12 or folate (which are more cost-effective to test). To my knowledge, ESR is used in certain rheumatologic conditions, and was used more often in the past, but isn't currently used for heart disease.

It is true that hs-CRP is relevant for cardiovascular risk. CRP and ESR are more for broader inflammatory risk, for acute and chronic values respectively.