Would a gyro with a swashplate ( just for pitch control) fly any different
(better,worse) than using a tilt type rotor head? Just more complex?

Also, I've seen some photos of early kit helicopters that appear to have
just a tilting head (no way to auto-rotate ?). Isn't this a bit of a death
wish? Does a helicopter need to have collective pitch for anything other
than auto-rotaion?

Silly questions, but it's a late night.