Customize ACP & Admin login redirect

[roy_b8te]

Hi there, I'm installing GetSimple for a client.
I will be granting access to the Admin CP,
but I don't want them to be able to make certain changes/additions etc.

For instance, I would like to conditionally remove or hide:

• Pages, Theme and Plugin tabs
  
• Health Check, Delete All Page Backups buttons, Use Fancy URLs checkbox, Custom Permalink input box
  
• Other specific ACP features
  

As a test, I was able to hide some of the elements in admin/template/css.php & flushing /data/cache/stylesheet.txt
by adding a the style rule: 

Code:

// not for production usage
#sidebar, #editpages, #show-characters,
#filtertable, .gslogo, #nav_pages, .support,
#permalink, #flushcache, .warning, #sitename, #prettyurls {
    visibility: hidden;
}

I also noticed there's a variable css file I can use to conditionally add/remove show/hide elements when either the "super user" or "client" are logged into ACP ( tested style variable ).

I have 2 questions:

1.  Is there a appropriate procedure to customize the ACP ?
   
2.  Can I change the default page redirect from admin/pages.php when an Admin logs in ? 
   

Apologies for the long winded explanation.
Any help or guidance is greatly appreciated thnx.