Oh yes, Merida has her own plans. You saw how she ran at Emma to try to break the spell and get her heart back. She has no choice but to try to make Rumple a hero, but she intends to use him to defeat Emma. However, Merida’s not been shown (here or in Brave) to be the most complex of planners–her first plan is almost always to whack stuff with a sword or shoot it with her arrows. She’s good with strategy, but not great; Emma and Rumple, however, have both become master manipulators at this point (and Emma was always good at outthinking her targets–she’s just got more abilities now). I think Merida got her father’s brawn and her brothers got her mother’s brains (they’re definitely better schemers and I so hope we get to meet them on the show).
Keeper of Belle's Gold magic, sand dollar, cloaks, purple FTL outfit, spell scroll, library key, copy of Romeo and Juliet, and cry-muffling pillow, Rumple's doll, overcoat, and strength, and The Timeline. My spreadsheet: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6r8CySCCWd9R0RUNm4xR3RhMEU/view?usp=sharing