Bavaria unites Germany instead of Prussia

[EmperorBatman999]

In our timeline, Prussia rose to prominence in the eighteenth-century and became one of the most powerful and influential states in Europe, putting it in its eventual position to unify the German states by military force and the ruthless diplomacy of Otto von Bismarck. By 1848, it appeared that the only German states capable of influencing the entirety of Germany was Prussia and Austria, even despite the general consolidation of the region after the end of the Napoleonic Wars.

However, what if Bavaria emerged as a contender? It was the third-largest state in the German Confederation in size and population by the nineteenth-century, and although by the time of the ending of the Napoleonic Wars it may have lost the competition, it still maintained substantial influence within the Empire until the end of World War I. What could have Bavaria and the Wittelsbach dynasty done differently before and during the 30 Years War, the 18th Century, or even the Napoleonic Wars, that could set them on a trajectory to challenge and beat both Prussia and Austria, in pursuit of the German throne?

I am also interested in seeing what a Bavarian-led Germany might look like culturally and politically, depending on when it might be formed. Might we see a more "benevolent" (or, dare I say, gemütlicher) Germany, born without the stain of Prussian militarism, that would eventually lead to a more stable and peaceful Europe? Would see a world without the World Wars, or perhaps one where these wars started in a different place? And what might German social and political culture overall look like with Munich instead of Berlin being the center of gravity for a German state?

Prost!