They have no reason to change that. They will long term want the exact same thing that twitter has, access to all user data and control of the platform.

No, not unless the person whose posts you want to see opted into bridging their account.

If both parties bridge their accounts they can follow eachother, or if one person bridges their account others can follow them.

I don't think you can see boosts of stuff not on your platform though, and I don't know how interacting with a bridged account works if both of you are bridged. If only the person you're following is bridged they definitely won't see it, but I don't know if that changes if you're both bridged

The amount of internet spaces with generous character limits and shit discussions makes me think that's far from the biggest issue.

But that's just Facebook, why would I have twitter if that is my only motivation?

The best guide isn't written down: don't be afraid to try a few instances until you find one you like!

Once you're on Mastodon and following people, you'll start to notice the servers and gravitate towards the ones you like.

I would advise against mastodon.social since it is the biggest and also has some problems with moderation. But some people like it, so maybe it is good enough also.

To choose a server, check out https://fedi.tips/which-server-should-i-join-how-do-i-find-out-more-about-a-server/

The fedi.tips account also posts a lot of helpful tips and themed lists of accounts to follow/discover so I recommend following them too!

Thats an advantage so thin it is almost invisible. Its a centralized platform, it could be bought by Elon or shutdown for whatever reason at any second. Being this shortsighted about the future of global communications systems is not a great idea when Trump is about to take office.

That's the same advantage all the other options have, too.