Weeha,
Wow! What a thorough post!! I have a feeling, you might be disappointed or frustrated with the replies/answers you receive. So I wanted to post my experience/view/education with bees - for what it is worth.
Bees are soo exciting! And I am a (slightly. . . HA!) OCD person, so I want to do everything right! I came onto this forum to learn the right way to do things, so that my bees would be healthy and happy and give lots of honey. My very first lesson? Ask 10 beekeepers how to do something, and you'll get 11 different answers. What? What do you mean you can't tell me exactly how often to look at my bees?? What do you mean you can't tell me exactly what date I should pull my supers! How the heck am i supposed to schedule this!!
It is actually the most valuable lesson I learned here. I repeat it ALL the time. There really is no 'right' way. There are different ways. There are definitely wrong ways. But there are so many other ways, that to say one is right, is . . . well, wrong! lol :p
Several of your questions ask for a date. Well, as you noted, when you do something has a lot to do with where you are. But it also has to do with what is happening that year, where you are. A very smart man said to me once that beekeeping is only part watching and knowing about bees. It is very much about watching and knowing what is going on in your environment. The answer to almost all of your questions is dependent on the rain, temperature, plants, weather, - all these factors will affect what your bees are doing on a given date and when you should do a, b or c. Your bees didn't draw out the supers? It might have had more to do with what was happening in your environment or where the hive was at rather than what you were doing.
What I am trying to say is, I look at my bees as a lesson in slowing down, participating in rather than controlling, and becoming aware rather than scheduling. Read through the forums, try to learn the signs that will tell you when action is needed, watch, listen and see the bees and your environment, and your questions will be answered. Mostly by the bees themselves.
As you said, you have entered the world of beekeeping. It might not be what you expected, but it will certainly be worth it!
It sounds like you are off to a great start with 3 healthy hives! Here's to a great bee- year for us all!
love,
ziffa