VM:
1: True, there is definitively more to it than just the Ani Maamans. However, I was answering in light of the OP.
2: I did not say that emuna pishutah is better than knowing both the questions and answers (I believe it is a rather large machlokes; check out the introduction to Shaar Hayichud in the Chovos Halevavos), only that it is definitely considered emuna.
3/4: Again, I am not opining on how and why one should believe the ikkarim, only that one must do so.
5: Says you. I think that belief is, well, belief. If I ask you if you believe that the 13 ikkarim are true, you must be able to honestly answer in the affirmative. How you get to that certainty is up to you.
6: So this guy doesn’t actually believe, he only believes that he has to believe? I don’t think that would be sufficient; you have to actually believe the ikkarim are true.
I’m not claiming that this is the only way to learn up emuna/apikursus, but this is how I’d define it.