To answer your question in short no it would not be easier to call offside with your proposal.
The Laws of the Game do not specifically state that the GK has to be one of the 2 defenders between the attacker and the goal line for the offside determination it is the 2nd to last defender. The GK can already go wherever he/she pleases during the course of play. The GK is required to wear a different jersey than his/her mates due to the added feature of hand usage in the penalty area, not to differentiate the position as only being able to play in a certain area.
How would your suggestion make the call easier and more accurate? In my experience the situation you describe where players are bunched up near the goal is actually one of the easier offside calls. The harder ones are the long balls from a fullback, stopper or sweeper to a rushing wing or forward weaving along the offside line.
Here are a couple of other points that crossed my mind while pondering your proposal:
1. Why would you want to lessen the GK role in the game like that? When you say If an attacking player only has to have one defender closer to goal, what would you now call the GK? Further in a practical sense your suggestion would relegate the GK to the penalty area only and most of the time the goal area. That is a great disservice to the players who happen to be GKs.
2. Why would you want to take the skill of the attackers out of the game? The current rule allows for skill and tactics to rule the day. Your proposal would make for many more breakaway goals and lead to a decrease in buildups in the offensive third. Quick passing buildup attacks are awesome soccer it would be a shame to lessen that aspect of the game and turn the game into a track meet.
3. I think your suggestion would increase confusion rather than decrease it. Right now when I am an AR all I have to do is count bodies. With your proposal I would have to count and then possibly subtract one more thing to do in some cases where there is lots of stuff to concentrate on to make the right call. When there are bodies bunched your suggestion would seem to make it even harder to get the call right.
4. The main job of an AR is to monitor the offside line. If the AR is in proper position (granted not always a given) then the offside determination is usually done well.
5. The offside judgement is just that a judgement. Sometimes this involves actions that are 30, 40 or 50 yards apart. If your objective is to make the call easier than decreasing this distance is where I would start. The old NASL had a 35 yard offside line instead of using midfield. That would make offside a lot easier to call as an AR would only have to be concerned with 35 yards of field for offside instead of 120 on a max layout.
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