3) If so, were these 12 words given to you, or did the user have the ability to choose them?
If the 12 words are given to you, that means the person or company that gives you the seed phrase will have it and have access to your bitcoin and steal it. Wallet will generate you seed phrase in a way only you will know the seed words. That is why it is good to use open source wallets like Electrum because close source wallets can be malacious in a way malware can be included in a way the wallet will generate already known seed phrase or seed phrase that can be know to the developers of the wallet.
My comment is based on you not to reveal your seed phrase to anyone.
Ah yes, poor phrasing only part. I understand the importance of the seed phrase. I just wasn’t sure if users had an option to select their own seed phrase back then.