I'm about to downgrade from 10.3 to 9.2 but I have many questions, both before and after.
Before:
I've backed up my SD card, SafeSysUpdater has come back with positive checks on the 9.2 update files I've put on my SD card. Is there anything else I can do to be as safe as possible?
Should I uninstall Menuhax or leave it? (I also have ironhax and Ninjahax, don't know if they work on 9.2 though.)
Which entry point should I use of those 3 to downgrade? Does it matter as long as SafeSysUpdater can load?
If, god forbid, it stops unsuccessfully, my only option is to go into recovery and go straight to official 10.5? Where is there a tutorial for that? Otherwise, data is maintained going to 10.5, and I can still load (not install) legit CIAs with Hans and Ninjahax/Menuhax 2.2 on 10.5?
After:
What happens to badges in 9.2? They disappear from the home menu? But then when I make an Emunand and update that to 10.5 they'll be back?
I'm still not sure how to get an Emunand and how to bring my current Sysnand and SD card data to it. Whats the most up-to-date tutorial for Emunand creation and sysnand copying?
From what I understand, everybody uses ReiNand to make the Emunand, and from there it's up to the user preference which CFW they use?
What's this about unlinking and linking NNIDs? It's more stable if you reformat your SYSnand and only have your Emunand linked to your NNID or something? And if you leave them linked, VC games don't run anymore or something? (Really need clarification on this, all sources I've googled are either old or contradict each other).
Can you update the Emunand to 10.5, leave Sysnand on 9.2, and still have the NNID on both?
Once an Emunand is up and running, is there rarely a point to even booting into SYSnand anymore? From where do we install CIAs? Emunand right? And if I DO want to purchase something from the Eshop, can I still do that on an Emunand?
How safe is it (safe as in not being banned from online) to run an imported MHX cart with the translation patch update 1.2 CIA and try to go online? For that matter, as long as it's a CIA, going online is 99% safe with any game?
You've interpreted the information in a wrong way. I'll answer your questions in the order they were asked.
Before:
1. If you've done the research, then you should know that the safest methods available are not 100% reliable. Just be prepared for anything even if you are using the "safest" method.
2. You'll need to reinstall Menuhax as it uses a different payload. I'd keep Ninjhax as an entry point for this.
3. If for whatever reason you've softbricked your 3DS, yes the only way to fix it is to go straight to 10.5.0.
After:
1. Badges? You mean badge arcade (sorry I don't play/use that)? I have no idea what's going to happen to it.
2. Uh, "getting an" Emunand is basically cloning your Sysnand onto a new partition on your SD card.
3. No, ReiNand is a CFW that can access Emunand. But right now it's not up to user preference for which CFW as ReiNand and CakesFW support up to 10.5 Emunand on N3DS. Once RxTools 3.0 officially comes out, then it becomes user preference.
4. A LOT of people had a problem with this after downgrading. It's not that it becomes more stable, I honestly have no idea where you got that from. I have no idea about VC games too, I don't play them on my 3DS. But about the "unlinking and linking" it's about when you have a freshly downgraded 3DS, you create Emunand for it, and then you unlink Nands. Then when you go back onto Emunand and try to go on the eShop, you'll get an error.
5. Yes, only on certain CFWs as stated above (ReiNand and CakesFW). RxTools currently supports up to 9.5 Emunand.
6. For booting into Sysnand, there's only a few instances where you would do that, otherwise you can happily forget about it. You install CIAs and can buy stuff from the eShop fine on emunand.
7. That's an issue for those using .3ds files. I am pretty sure if you're using a legit cart you should have no problems. CIAs should be 100% safe with any online game.
I'm not here to spoon feed you links, someone else can do that, I'm only here to give you information.