Likes:
1. Yes to all.
Dislikes:
1. Holding LB / R1 will fix your character's view direction and allow you to zoom out a bit, if that helps any.
2. Fair play. I don't much like it either, with my limited experience in it. Good thing it's not mandatory!
3. I recruited her a grand total of once and that was just for an achievement, so... Can't comment.
4. I preferred the smaller stories to the actual "storyline", to be honest. Boone's story in particular.
As for tips... Gun Runner's Arsenal and Old World Blues are two rather good pieces of DLC if you don't already have them. Explore ALL the places! I got quite a pleasant (relatively pleasant...) surprise when I happened upon the old nuclear testing site. Don't be afraid to try out different character builds (stealth-based, combat-based, diplomats, sadists, etc). Oh, and the Wild Wasteland perk is always worth a punt.