I thought hovering the mouse over the research icon only showed progress on research currently being carried out...

2. You can also set teams at the start of the game, as well as decide whether to leave the teams locked or unlocked. Unlocking teams means players are allowed to change their alliances, while locking teams prevents this (and thus, disabling most of the diplomacy screen).

3. The Advent also have a more powerful set of abilities which complement each other (combos of interest include Cleansing Brilliance + Malice, Vengeance + Animosity) as well as their ships (Amplify Energy Aura and Shield Regeneration are notable examples)

I find the TEC to be the best faction for the defensive minded, as their repair platforms go a lot longer than the Advent or Vasari counterparts once their abilities are fully researched. They're strong points are in armor, hull points, and a strong economy.

Vasari are the bain of the Advent, particularly with their Phase Missile technology, which allows their munitions to completely ignore shields and attack the hull directly, which is useful considering shielding on Advent ships is often stronger than the hull of the ship itself. Their strong points are in phasing technology (Phase Stabilizers and thier Missiles), resource gathering, and subversion of enemy ships (either through hampering antimatter-reliant abilities like the Skirmisher's Interference or outright disabling the enemy in the case of the Stilakus Subverter).

I remember an occasion where I played as Advent and saw one of my level 10 cap's shield mitigation rise to 85% while being focus fired by pirates... its impressive to see a torrent of lasers and bullets hardly make a significant drop in shield strength...

The best advice I can give is to see these ships and abilities in action for yourself.