Thanks for that Annatar. Another quick question:

Why is it that when I select a LEV and click on the button to "build Metal Extractor", that the damn thing will head off to the FARTHEST asteroid to start building? This is really annoying. Like a bad joke from the Dev's hahahah.

Yeah, I really like that you can just build from the planet. Sometimes its almost impossible to find your construction frigates.

Exp is split evenly between capitals regardless of how much damage each one inflicted. It's actually awarded across the gravity well, so a capital isn't even required to damage any ship to get xp for it.

Your first point is true. Giving a move order cancels a previous attack order, though ships will still take shots at targets of opportunity if they are able, while obeying your move order. For example, telling your capital to move past a bunch of enemy ships will cause it to use its port/starboard weapons to attack the ships it's moving past while they're in its arc of fire.

Yes, though the majority of ships only have weapons in the front, so their targets of opportunity will be more limited

They still do it, though. If you order them to pursue fleeing ships, and there's one in front of them within weapons range, they'll still shoot at it while closing in on your designated target.