I'm hoping that he'll creep out some of the people who only came to know him lately by being genial and friendly.

I doubt it. That, by the way, is called being trustING, not trustworthy. He probably will not trust people to a great extent, but should go easier on those who are not in that inner circle. There should be less of a difference in how much leeway he is willing to give those he trusts and those he does not explicitly.

I think his main fear was what HE would do to them, not the danger he would bring them. While that was a part of it, in his once-per-book rumination on that topic in CoT, he seemed to be coming around to the notion that he was not necessarily a detriment to their survival, before, of course, Semirhage went and told him he was already nuts. I think he might be more open to the rationalization that if he can't avoid bringing his dangers to them, he might as well embrace the relationships and bring them under his protection. For instance, the revelation to the Maidens of the warder bonds should make them take an interest in the women's security (his honor, as they see it, would be contingent upon fulfilling the duties of a warder and protecting them: if Far Dareis Mai carries his honor, it is incumbent upon them to step in and protect his girlfriends where he cannot). Likewise, in some circles, while whacking a friend or ally or other associate to send a message might be acceptable, going after actual family (like a spouse) might invite the same sort of direct retaliation, and be frowned upon. I am not saying anyone in WoT thinks like that, but it is an example of the sort of rationale that might come into play in his acceptance of officializing or formalizing their relationship. IMO, absent any religious issues, the bond is as good as a wedding for a lifetime commitment. Certainly more binding than a few promises witnessed by the village busybody.

If the latter happens, I would be severely disappointed, as that was an issue before Moiraine "died" anyway. In fact, it was the day of her death when the Maidens finally chose to confront him about it. I think that while it will still hurt him, he will be better able to bear that hurt. This has been the whole point of his strong vs. hard character arc. He was hardening himself to avoid feeling pain. His breakthrough was learning to accept the good with the bad, making him better able to endure those hurts that all his hardness was insufficient to keep at bay anyhow.

I never really saw it as an ego issue. Rather his anger and frustration when defied or resisted had to do with the stakes for the world. He was destroying himself and killing his spirit in order to become what he thought was necessary to save humanity from the Dark One and people are picking fights and taking issue with him over trivia and minutiae. It was not due to an overblown opinion of himself, but rather a fairly appropriate prioritization and understanding of others' place in the scheme of things. RJ has described Rand's role as "the indispensible man" so it is hard to see how Rand's view of his place could be considered arrogant. False modesty is a sin against humility every bit as much as unwarranted pride, so Rand's attachment of a lot of importance to himself and his role is only proper and fitting.

Probably. I hardly recall him doing much of either before he started going "dark," so let's hope B-Sand doesn't go overboard with examples.

Not all the way. Now that he's theoretically more centered, he is better able to recognize her virtues and shortcomings equally. He would be unlikely to continue to reject her out of pique, but less willing to tolerate her BS. To be fair to them both, a lot of that BS was intended to break through his emotional block - having done that on his own, Cadsuane would be doing them both a grave disservice to attempt to restore their relationship to its former parameters. It may be too that she is not much longer for this world, as from a narrative sense, her task is largely done.

What terms? He's already given her more than she (or more properly speaking, the Tower) deserves. What demands would she be justified in making of him? Most of what she has thought in relation to him has had to do with her own insecurities, her promotion of Aes Sedai interests and supremacy and her perception of wrongdoing on his part. I challenge you to give evidence of ANY of that latter, especially when you consider that Egwene herself laid out the reasoning why his requirement that sisters who serve him swear fealty is acceptable. All the sisters he required the oaths from had proved themselves untrustworthy, and really none of them have yet redeemed themselves or proven otherwise. Egwene's only basis for opposing him is the highly partisan and prejudical grounds of unquestioned Aes Sedai supremacy. While there are probably good reasons why she must maintain that stance in public, there is certainly no reason for Rand to give in to her. It's not like she and the Tower have a lot to offer him as it is. The Tower's influence and prestige has largely been pissed away in their civil war and the choas of the world around them, which they ignored to focus on the former issue, and even if it were not, it's not like he needs them to bring anyone else into his fold. Every human being south of the borderlands is ruled by Rand, Elayne or Tuon or their surrogates, with the sole exception of Murandy, whose ruler (barring Shadow influences) has more reason to be pissed at Egwene than any other leader. Rand has more channelers than Egwene, and better ones with greater utility, so the measly thousand or so trained sisters she can bring to the table are hardly enough to be tempting, especially when given all of the high-maintenance issues infesting them. Look at the effort Mat has to go through with a trio of sisters who owe him their freedom, if not their lives, and from whom he has less than most to fear from their channeling. Aes Sedai are not appealing followers or allies by a longshot, and only owe such appeal as they do possess to their prior monopoly on the One Power. A monopoly since broken by the founding of the Black Tower, and increased contact with the channeling cultures of the Aiel, Sea Folk and Seanchan. For a straight-up fight, I'd rather have the Seanchan and their damane at my back, as well as their military staffs than Egwene's jerkwad of a general who has no experience against Shadowspawn (not to mention difficulty beating Gawyn with superior numbers ), but enough of a rep to make trouble with his pointless (or Egwene-inspired) second guessing.

And done.