They could. The 25-30 days 'deadline' is based purely on observations lately. Some cases medical is cleared in a couple of weeks while some take over 45 days. So no need to panic if you cross 30 days.
You need a reference letter which mentions you employment details and also your job duties and responsibilities matching with your NOC code. Pay stubs are not necessary.
Don't some people pass their medical in a couple of weeks? The 25-30 days is just a general observation isn't it? Some people even go 40-45 days without any notification
Do you mean you had your medical done in september? That's different from passing the medical, which appears on your MyCIC dashboard about a month after AOR
You don't necessarily have to pay RPRF at the time of submission. It's up to you when you want to pay it. As of now, I'd say you've got nothing to worry about. Just wait for the next update, which would be the passport request hopefully.
Ah! You must be close then. I'd say December. :) When you log in to MyCIC, does it say N/A next to Additional Documents section? I'm not sure but I think that's an indication that your RFRP stage is clear.
You can have funds in excess as long as you can prove it's yours and there's no dodgy source that it's coming from. Also, I think you need to disclose all accounts from that bank. But I'd let other members throw some light on it since I'm not a 100% sure about it.