VFR Flight Following is just that. They follow you along your route, giving you Altimeter Settings and any other information you request.
Each controller will hand you over to the next on a proper radar handover. They will vector you around traffic, they will even vector airliners around you.
When receiving a VFR Flight Following service and you're flying into a busy airfield such as San Jose they will ask if you're familiar with the area, if you reply "negative" (which is fine) then they will radar vector you onto downwind / base / final etc.
Class B controllers will normally vector VFR traffic around including altitudes, headings etc. If an instruction would take you into cloud then inform the controller that you are unable and suggest a different heading or altitude for them to give you.
One note... even if you're under a VFR Flight Following service. You are NOT cleared into Class B airspace until the controller says, "Arrow 47455 you are Cleared into Class Bravo Airspace at Five Thousand Five Hundred, Maintain Heading 190". Etc etc...
At bigger airfields at Class C / B airspace you will normally be given a Departure clearance such as "Arrow 47455 After Departure Climb runway heading 1000', left turn 140, climb and maintain 3000. Expect 6000 ten minutes after departure, Sqwark 2045", even if you're VFR (although the altitudes will be different)...
Don't forget to file your VFR Flight Plans when flying over the Desert, this can be done on the same great 1-800-WX-BRIEF number. Weather, NOTAMS etc... don't forget to ask for any TRA's, they should give them to you but at least if there are any problems and they get the tape recording out then you'll be on tape asking for such information.
Hope this helps.
Charlie Zulu.