First and foremost, very nice & detailed write-up. This should guide a lot of newbies and some more experienced managers out there. I totally agree with the points highlighted. If I may add some points

1. 3-5-2 is definitely an offensive formation and will only truly be effective with normal or attacking mentality.
2. Having wingers does not mean you need to attack down the wings. As rightfully highlighted, you can go down the middle and the red arrows on your wingers will dictate the positioning of your wide men i.e. how the players behave.
3. Hard tackling works as effective as whole pitch press but uses less energy. It is a myth that it injures opponents or injures your players. Hard tackling means that your players are much more quick to tackle and try to win the ball.