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And with a tiny bit of network knowledge and equipment it's easy to see where where data is flowing to and from for your miner. And see where and what is being done.
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Alas you cannot, it encrypts the 'extra' data inside the miner, so you can only see 'where' it is going.
You cannot see how much the fee is nor what other data is sent.
Also it's close source so you can't even check any of that.
In theory you can get close if you are not mining at the same pool they are. IF you just follow the where you can see how many stratum requests do to dave pool and how many go to slushpool.
Some basic math will get you in the ballpark. You would probably not be able to see 2.5% vs 3.25% but could figure out 2.5% vs 7%
As for the firmware itself, there are plenty of users who have reported lower energy use along with the same or better poolside hashrate. So from anecdotal evidence there are many people who use it and are satisfied.
Some people have seen no benefit or even worse results, even in the same farm. So at a guess if the equipment is already at it's limit there is very little else that can be done.
Would I use it? No, but that's me and my choice, I would not stop anyone from using it if they felt it worked for them.
-Dave