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1) Yes and no. It's advisable to keep you're squadmates as well geared as you are but not entirely necessary (well I should say the ones you use, I used the same two squadmates throughout the entire game so I only worried about keeping them geared). You'll have one squad mate death you can't avoid (and it is a choice between 2 characters, that's not really a spoiler as by now you should of heard of this considering the age of the game) and one that you can avoid as long as you pick the right dialog choices and yes they are perma-death if they happen in a cutscene. Considering how often certain pieces of gear drop you'll never have to worry about gear being lost as you can either pick it up somewhere else or buy it (the only exception are Spectre class weapons (you'll be learning about them shortly), there's only one set you can buy and another set you can pick up if you're lucky (these are the best weapons in the game, I suggest buying the first set when you can (it'll be awhile as they are expensive))). 2) I never micromanaged combat in either KoToR1 or ME1, I let the NPC's decide what to do. The one thing I'll give ME is that the squad AI isn't bad and can fend for itself (no where near as good as they do in 2 or 3 but still better then other games). It's really your choice if you want to micromanage them or not. 3) Infiltrator isn't bad in the late game but just make sure you know how to play it effectively. There are some pretty hairy fights toward the end of the game that can be extremely difficult to get through as an Infiltrator. I suggest getting used to using you're pistol as your primary weapon if you decide to continue down the Infiltrator path as the sniper rifle isn't advisable unless you're engaging and extreme long ranges (and with the way heat works you get 1-2 shots before you're gun overheats (2 if you have the best sniper in game with the best add-ons)). Not trying to turn you away from it as I played my first time through as an Infiltrator and loved it but the game is ten times easier to play through as a Soldier (in fact it's pretty much easy mode if you do). 4) Meh, if you save often you'll be fine if you don't use medi-gels like a nut but I suggest using them every time you have to. They're not sparse but they also aren't as plentiful as you'd like them. 5) Use nades every change you get. They spawn like rabbits so you'll never not have grenades. As DX said interact with everyone as side quests are everywhere, you never really know who'll have one and who won't (god I love how ME:A made this so much easier to tell, about the only thing they did right). Also pick you're squad composition to compliment you're current play style/class. As an Infiltrator I ran Wrex and Liara, Wrex due to him being a Soldier and Liara because she was Biotic. Gave me a little of everything since Infiltrators are Tech based in ME (changes in ME:A) and allowed me to get through the game with relative ease. If I remember correctly ME has a system that will tell you if you're heavily leaning toward Tech/Biotic/Soldier based teams (it's a good judge of who you should and shouldn't bring with you). Other then that enjoy your play through. ME1 is my second favorite in the series after ME3 (I liked ME3. It had superior storytelling, the plot was amazing, character interactions were at their best, and I actually like how it originally wrapped up. All you haters can now roast me).

You have a few squad deaths later in the game. One you can't avoid, the other is avoidable. It's been so long I can't remember much about gearing other NPCs. You'll be spending a good many hours exploring the citadel before you get into exploring planets. Make sure you interact with everyone. You can pick up some side quests for when you finally depart. Use nades. You should get them pretty frequently from containers. Same with medigel. Use them if you're about to die. Dying isn't very forgiving in this game if you don't save often... Unless they've patched in autosave years later, it didn't exist when the game first came out. You don't really need to micromanage combat. But you'll find out who is good without commands and who isn't. Wrex needs to be on your party at all times tbh. Everyone else is up to you.