1. I like a couple warriors (2 or 3, depending on our land: if it's a peninsula with not too much land, 2 will suffice), and then a settler. Quick 2nd cities really help. It can produce the workers and warriors for MP we need. Then we can build a granary either after the settler or even more units, depending on if we need them or not. Of course, if we start with lots of food around us, a granary could help early.
2. I leave goody huts alone, unless I'm far from my cities or near another civilization's units so they can kill the barbarians. (2 or 3 warriors and then a settler is good).
3. Research plan sounds good. Currency, CoL and Literature are three good techs that the AI doesn't value a whole lot.
peacemonger is right though, thanks for chiming in. It depends on the start. I'll get 3 starts up if you don't get any floydmcw within a couple hours.