Ok I'll try to answer some of these, have had dtv a year. Do I can cover some of these. If anyone thinks I answered incorrectly feel free to add in.
Wireless video bridge, the advertised 80 feet is assuming best possible conditions, much like your home router. Internal walls in homes are not as substantial as exterior walls. Depending on your homes (brick, aluminum siding, wood) exterior walls will greatly affect signal quality outside of your home. Quality wise the wireless mini has just as good of picture quality (1080p)
The protection plan CAN be worth it, I've used mine a few times. If something fails (my genie hdd crashed) the equipment dtv covers however without it you pay s&h I think around $20, also with protection plan you get expedited shipping. Covers remotes, cables as well. Also any service calls cost $49 normally. Fee waived for protection plan customers. Also equipment upgrades (not used this yet, but was told while free new agreement applied).
Read your customer agreement. ««««
The agreement only says you have to keep minimum programming for the 24mo. I've changed my package like 3 times. Plus side is it's prorated! So I've upgraded to catch a season of a show and then dropped it back when I was done.
Lastly, you shouldn't have to pay any custom charges unless you want in wall wiring fished like I did(or anything out of the ordinary). Any custom charges the tech will tell you about before doing them.You may have holes drilled, ask your installer to consult you before drilling if it's needed. Most I've interacted with have been awesome.
That's all I've got but I think I answered most of your questions. Good luck!