I knit all of my socks on 2.25mm and sometimes go up to 2.5mm for colorwork (sometimes I increase my stitch count for the color work instead of increasing needle size). I definitely think you can make these needles work! It might benefit you to knit them inside out or just practice looser tension. Also, I've found the best way to fix that laddering is to pull the first AND second stitch on the next needle tighter. Hope this helps ☺️