Yeah, the any-race-in-a-faction was a pre-order-the-game-on-PC only thing, best of my knowledge. I would assume they'd offer the Imperial upgrade for console though (pay a bit more and get the Imperial race, the Imperial horse, and some other things which I forget).
The Imperial is probably the best option for an Aldmeri tank, without access to the other faction's races.
In general, I feel the racial passives are nice but not strongly determinant in your racial selection.