Yeah, for all we know riding in the back of a pick up could be a part of Loki's evil plan. We won't know until we see it.

t:
REVEALED AT LAST!
Loki's evil plan is to get wasted on a Saturday night and jump in the back of his buddy's pickemup truck and swing a big stick at passing mailboxes. YEEEEEHAW
....Loki must be from Georgia. And I don't mean the former Soviet republic.
I'm wondering if the 2nd Initiative will be a build up to Avengers 2: The Infinity Gauntlet.
The after-credits scene for Avengers could be a cameo of Thanos becoming aware of Earth or discovering one of the Infinity Gems..
2013 brings us Iron Man 3 and Thor 2 which could both have mini-scenes of Thanos on his way toward our planet and/or assembling the Infinity gems.
2014 could be Captain America 2 and Dr. Strange with more Thanos post-credit activity.
2015 brings us Guardians of the Galaxy and finally Thanos arrives with Avengers 2: The Infinity Gauntlet. The GotG can help the Avengers fight Thanos but are introduced in their own movie as Feige mentioned. Maybe the Cosmic Cube is actually one of the Infinity Gems. Once it's near the other gems, it could reform itself to match them. Or their weilder, Thanos, reforms them to fit his gauntlet.
I would like to see the short film rumor too, which could introduce us to other characters, like Luke Cage and Iron Fist amongst others. These characters could be included in Avengers 2 for the major threat and given Avenger status.
As much as the Avengers assembling was a massive build-up, ~3 years to build up the sequel could be even more intense. Imagine the anticipation as it takes that long, for the general public, to figure out what is happening.
Or, you know, the Infinity Gauntlet is already assembled, and locked away with very, very little security in Odin's treasure room on Asgard. (You *did* see
Thor, didn't you....?)
I *do* agree with you that "Phase II" will likely involve (directly or indirectly) a lead-up to the Avengers taking on Thanos in the sequel, but I doubt Thanos will have to *gather* the Gems....I mean, the Gauntlet's already done. Instead, it'll segue straight into a variant of the Infinity War.
In fact, I could see Adam Warlock/Magus as a link between several of the Phase II movies --- he's definitely suited for a movie about the Sorcerer Supreme (even though the primary villain in a Dr. Strange absolutely *must* be Mordo and/or Dormammu); and he was, of course, a member of the Guardians of the Galaxy; and, of course, he's integral to Thanos' storyline. Also, I remember Feige or someone recently said in an interview that the plot of
Thor 2 would involve Thor and Jane traveling the cosmos to a large extent....so. Not sure where IM3, Cap 2 (still iffy, by Feige's comments), and Ant-Man would fit into that story arc, though....