1.Nf3 Nc6 2.d4 d5 (2...e6 3.e4 d5 4.e5 +=, 2...d6 3.e4 e5 4.Bb5 is a Ruy Lopez Steinitz variation) 3.c4 is a Chigorin, 3.Bf4 is a good version of the London that avoids all of the c5 lines, 3.g3 is also fine. White will get at least some advantage with just about anything in these lines.
1.Nf3 Nc6
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whoa chessteacher is so new..
I think you should transpose into the Italian Game or the Ruy Lopez with 1. Nf3 Nc6 2. e4 e5 and then 3. Bc4 or Bb5
To avoid studying?
Actually if you only want to play 1.e4 e5 lines, this does avoid the Sicilian, which may be said by some to be 'Black's main strategic idea' against 1.e4 ;)
But 1.Nf3 Nc6 is so incredibly rare that starting with 1.Nf3 to get to e4 mainlines is rather questionable (1...Nf6 and 1...d5 are the most common replies)
The drawback (if there is one) of playing 1.Nf3 to reach the Nimzo-Larsen setup with b3 is that after Nf3, you cannot play the attractive lines involving an early f2-f4 push as in 1.b3 e5 2.Bb2 Nc6 3.e3 d5 4.Bb5 Bd6 5.f4 Qh4+ 6.g3 Qe7 7.Nf3 f6 8.Qe2 with a small advantage to White according to the last time I checked the theory of the line which was several years ago.
Rereading the original post: Exactly why do you not want to allow e5? 1.b3 e5 is in my view a justification for the 1.b3 move-order since White can probably get an advantage against most lines. The only problem is if Black manages to get a setup involving f6 in which White is not ideally placed to deal with it and suffers from a weak darksquare bishop as a result. Is that what you are worried about?
Thanks everyone, I've decided 1.Nf3 Nc6 2.d4 (as previously suggested by Absolute_Fear, this move seems to make good sense) d5 3.g3. It doesn't seem to be too theoretical (although I'm not sure) and there are a decent number of games in the databse with this line to learn from. As an added bonus, white seems to have a fantastic win percentage although I realize that may not count for much since I'm nowhere near master level :P. I do not like the idea of transposing into e4 e5 Nf3 Nc6 openings, since I haven't played that in a long time.
Thechessteacher, that's exactly why I don't play 1.b3. Although white may get a slight advantage from that line, that really doesn't mean anything at my level (rusty 1500 uscf) and I just don't seem to enjoy 1.b3 e5. I can't say 1.Nf3 has given me any serious problems at any time yet, and I enjoy a lot of the positions I get.
You probably don't get enough chances to exercise your tactical muscles in those openings if you only play the 'positional' Nimzo-Larsen lines. Probably better for your chess development would be to play open games with 1.e4 and developing your pieces to aggressive squares. But that's not what you were asking for, just saying that because you commented on a slight advantage not meaning anything at your level. 1.Nf3 and 2.b3 doesn't help your development much as a chess player or on the board.
I've run across this line a few times on this site and it seems to have given me a little trouble. I play the Nimzo-Larsen with 1.Nf3 2.b3 (or another move if I want to transpose) and allowing e5 is something I don't enjoy doing. Black can force it by playing d6 or f6 at some point, but I find that's not as big of a deal. I see that white has a huge win percentage after 1.Nf3 Nc6 2.d4, so is that a good line? I have never played any 1.d4 lines, so if it transposes into something I'm not sure if I'd want to try it. I have tried 2.b3, and it's not very fun although not that bad.