I think your points are all valid. I read the books, but my husband didn't. The first thing he said when we sat down to watch this episode was,"Where are all the animals if everyone has a daemon?" He's right though. They need more daemons, but I think they might be saving their money on the ice bear.Am I being too picky because of my attachment to the books?
As @zombie.modernist pointed out in that scene where we learn about Lyra's parents, the writing has been really clunky. I think this my gripe too. I loved the scene last week where Lyra broke into the study. It had me on the edge of my seat. And I realized that the action sequences are superb but the minute someone opens their mouth, it starts dragging.
I haven't read the books for years, so I can't necessarily say that this show is so different from the books, but I do notice that the rich world is really been hard for them to capture in the show.