LinuxQuestions.org - New Installation of Ubuntu 16.04 minimal cd

Hi, I'm trying to move from newbie to a better user and eventually a power user, so I am doing a fresh installation of Ubuntu 16.04 LTS from the minimal cd available at help.ubuntu.com.

My current goal that I would like to ask for help with are some initial steps.

I just finished an install without selecting a desktop, so I am booting straight to a bash prompt.

1. I would like to setup my boot, so no cover screen is there while booting. In other words, I would like to see the boot log without having to hit escape.

2. After boot, I enabled ufw with default deny, so that covers the firewall part. Any suggestions on this? something else I might need for basic security?

3. The last question for now is the most important to me. I selected targeted kernel drivers only, so I have no bloat. However, as you all know, that is not the most optimal kernel. Before I start learning about the complexities of compiling a kernel, I would like to make sure I understand how to load unload and identify modules. So from an initial install, how can I ensure that no unnecessary modules load.
To give you an example. My install is on a hd not a virtual machine. But in a virtual machine, I found out that the newer kernels have some power management feature which comes up as a warning during boot. The explanation said, that its not a bug or error so it can be safely ignored. Thats fine, but it's a no-no for me. I want to make sure I am in full control of all components, so i want to know how to identify and disable things or enable them based on kernel messages that I would find int he boot log. Also, where can I find the boot log? So this is what Im basically looking to do today.

If anyone has suggestions on these couple of questions I would appreciate it. I'm sitting in front of my computer and laptop and looking for any helpful advice to continue the Ubuntu configuration.

Thank you