Dear Yankel,
To answer your there questions.
Mostly no. (Some even more extreme. Many undecided. Different ones rejected the idea.) The reality of what Chabad thought about The Rebbe’s mission before the stroke was varied. [My understanding. Based on others. I wasn’t alive then.] It always was varied how to deal with practical messianism in Lubavitch. There is a underhanded attempt to unify Chabad thought to more specific points, but it is futile. You can convince any other group to accept something unanimously. Chabad has too many independent types.
No or almost none. People have their opinions before they read this stuff. And they take it in according to their prior views.
No way! No kol korei ever accurately conveyed the wishes of the leader.