Hi,
1) There is drip feed feature available in wplms but its a general drip feed only. Right now we do not have different drip feed based on user group/batch.
2) There are different student dashboard widgets in wplms, you can use the course progress dashboard widget and add it in the student sidebar.
When user login, you can redirect them to their dashboard from lms->settings->student login redirect.
3) Yes you can allow students enrolled in the course to view the units directly from the curriculum, refer:
https://vibethemes.com/documentation/wplms/knowledge-base/enable-students-subscribed-to-course-to-view-units-from-curriculum/
NOTE: This will open the single unit page only it will not open the course status page.