SASLess, really only point 10 needs an answer as quality is inseparable from quantity. I am sure you remember the Israeli proverb.
Of the latter, the answer is probably yes in both cases. In the case of both it is to have and to hold and not to have to recapture and hold - a world of difference.
The difference is of course where we saved money and relinquished all, bar Gibraltar and Akrotiri, our old overseas based.
Overseas bases are a continuing drain on resources as even the US knows. Yet re-establishing a presence, if possible at all, is much more expensive.