Great tip about looking at the route I am interested in about a week out ahead of time online, KQ! A quick look right now would seem to indicate that there should be a chance to save at least a FEW Euro.
And I was fairly certain that the scenario in #2 is not untypical...but glad I am not the only person unable to find any official discussion of this on the bahn site. The trip I am likely to be taking is from Essen to Braunschweig, and those connections in Hannover are pretty tight!