Five questions from a block chain novice related to using Ethereum

1) Say I went and made a wallet and purchased some Ether on a platform like Coinbase…what are some simple ways I can actually use the cryptocurrency? I know I can send it to other people’s wallets like Bitcoin, but what are a few other introductory ways I could use it? I want to familiarize myself with this.
2) What is the most simple use of a smart contract in Ethereum and what is required for me to enact one? Is there a simple/consumer-level example that I could try out? If so, how can I do that? I would be open to trying a few.
3) I understand block chain technology as a basic concept and how Ethereum or EOS are smart contract platforms, but I’m confused about DApps. Several sub-questions:
a) In a non-technical way, how exactly does a Dapp deploy or get used on a specific base block chain like Ethereum? 
b) Why don’t all the DApps that run on Ethereum use Ether as a currency? I see something like Golem has it’s own token, but CryptoKitties does not – why is that the case? Why would some DApp choose to use its own token while another DApp chooses not to?
c) What is the real difference between a Dapp running on Ethereum with it’s own token (say Storj) and a fully separate project like Filecoin? I get that Filecoin has it’s own blockchain, but the difference beyond that confuses me. What’s the benefit of one approach vs. the other?
4) Why do people use one smart contracts platform vs. another?
5) Is there a relationship in price between Ether and Ethereum-based tokens or are they completely different assets?