[SunnyDee]

I would answer number 1 a little differently. It depends on what you mean by pattern. If you mean the W W H W W W H type of pattern, I'd say, yes. People usually talk about "shape" as in where do you put your fingers and talk about it like it's important to practice moving your fingers in a certain way so you can do it quickly, but I think that's what makes beginners think they have to learn lots of different shapes.

I preferred to learn the relatively few shapes of intervals that are practical and common to play on and across the strings (minor 3rd, major 3rd, 5th, etc) and then I can play any scale pattern, in any key, anywhere on the fretboard, without memorizing certain shapes. This way is easier, too, I think, when it comes to adjusting to the interval for the B string. I'm not doing any shredding this way, but that was never my goal.