Pods 2.5 optimizations work

This is a general PR for all the 2.x-optimizations work done so far by @jamesgol / @pglewis; to ensure we can see a full big picture of the changes. This will make it easier to review everything as it currently is (or becomes) and I can comment on the difference lines.
It's important to note that pods_v vs pods_var isn't the same:

* pods_v: Unsanitized
* pods_v_sanitized: Sanitized
* pods_var: Sanitized (deprecated)
* pods_var_raw: Unsanitized (deprecated)

In this line specifically, it should have originally been pods_var_raw, so your change to pods_v is warranted (versus the normal migration from pods_var to pods_v_sanitized). I just wanted to highlight this, incase you may have not known yet (easy to get confused about this specific change in functions).