OS: windows XP
Sugar Version: 5.0.0d (CE)
Webserver: Apache 2.0.?
PHP Version: 5.2.5
MySQL Server: 5.0.51a

I am currently investigating / implementing sugarCRM for our small consultancy. This is going to require a reasonable amount of work as the information (and language) used/stored is quite different from the default information from the installation.
Some of this might vary between help / development(ish) queries. Hopefully this is the right forum for most of this anyway.

For a bit of background information I am the summer intern (of sorts), I have a good knowledge of the company im currently working in however my main experiance / training has been in games development (C/C++ / openGL etc.) so sadly lacking in experiance of web / php development. Due to this I am attempting to get as much use out of sugar as possible without becoming too involved editing/creating files in the back end, to try and make the system as easy to maintain as possible. Attempting to get as much use out of the studio / built in features. That being said if there isn't and alternative I guess i can start learning more php etc.
(additionally I currently have quite restricted access to our server itself as far as im aware the above information is correct, apologies if any of it is drasticly wrong.)

So a few questions;
1) Is it possible to enable audtiting for default fields without having to manually edit vardefs?
As i understand it adding 'audited'=>true would provide auditing on default fields, however is there an alternative to this. Additionally does anyone have any advice carrying out this change so that it is upgrade safe as this system is likely to be up and running while im away completing my degree.
The monitoring of changes to Account information is a powerful feature for us so we are keen to make the most of it.

2) Similar to the above question is it possible to remove or hide sub-panels on the account view? or am I going to have to make changes manually.
As i understand it so far there is a defined layout file i could probably remove / comment out some lines but that doesn't sound like a particularly ideal solution i.e. sounds like a bit of hack thats likely to go wrong at some stage after i go back to university.

3) Is it possible to duplicate some of the layout / functionality of some of the fields on the default views, for example duplicating the "EMAIL ADDRESS(ES)" feature to store a list of information? (we frequently deal with large multisite clients so while we dont nessesarily need a full address layout for 4-15 sites we do need if possible some record of their existance for our records). Similarly the layout for the billing / shipping addresses, if i was to add a 3rd address to an account somewhere is it possible to duplicate the formatting of the other address areas.
I'm currently assuming features / layouts like this are hard coded somewhere is this correct?

4) Regarding the access that users have to accounts;
Is it possible to restrict individual fields, for example for certain pieces of key information is it possible to restrict certain users / roles within the company from making changes.
I know that currently I can for example restrict a user from making any changes to an account but its it possible to just restrict individual fields / would this level of permissions be available in any of the other sugar editions?. This isnt a critical issue as if we're auditing the fields anyway its unlikely that there will be any drastic issues, just a blanket yes / no on editing seems restrictive. Changing a phone number isn't very critical, however changing something like the company name or its registered address would be more of an issue.
Similarly making changes to the notes for a lead isnt a big deal, but changing a date or the source of an enquirey could cause problems. We're a small company its not unheard of for more junior members of staff to be assisting the sales / marketing staff with updating information however there may be some data that we may wish to protect. Im keen to strike a balance between protecting the information we're storing without getting in the way of staff doing their jobs.

5) One last thing, im assuming if I want additional dashlets (a very nice feature i might add) I have to go create them myself? as im yet to find anything to quickly build these for me. If some kind of mythical dashlet builder exists id love to hear about it.

Sorry for the wall of text, if any further clarification is required please ask
In general im attempting to avoid having to reinclude changes to files / additional files following updates to reduce the amount of time that is going to be required to maintain the system.