I just got my recall letter in the mail today for my 2016 Edge.  No parts available yet, so carry on until parts are available, then I'm supposed to get another letter to have me contact my dealer.  

It is a feature.   The electric parking brake could apply when you shift to park (P) without the brake pedal fully pressed. The electric parking brake applies when you shift to park (P) on large slopes. The electric parking brake releases with the drive away release function.    

I have a 24 Ford edge and just recently noticed the parking brake applied itself when shutting off the car in my driveway (slight incline).  Is this a feature on the car or a malfunction?

i had slotted rotors on one vehicle, created a bad bearing buzz type of sound when i got on the brakes. never again, unless i was actually doing a race prep build

Drilled and drilled and slotted rotors can/do make a humming noise when stopping.  It occurs on motorcycles with factory drilled rotors (for me this was Triumph and Harley-Davidson motorcycles) and its happened on cars that I've installed drilled and slotted rotors on.  The noise on the car was a trade-off for the reduced heat buildup of the rotors and pads during highway and mountainous road/highway driving.

Inch/pounds (in/lbs) is a very common torque value for smaller, more delicate parts with smaller fasteners.

Welcome and congrats!

I would think that since you need both the tires and wheels, you should go back to the OEM tire size and wheel, P245/60R18. You should easily be able to find the 18-inch wheels at your local salvage yard. If you want to go with a 17-inch tire and wheel set up, the tire size that has the closest tire height (to reduce speedometer error) while increasing the sidewall size from 5.8 to 6.3 inches is P245/65R17.   For your leaking tires, try replacing the valve stems. Some stems are known to leak. Doc1.pdf

AWD has larger brakes that require an 18 inch wheel. But yes, the same model tire with the same overall dimensions seem to be around $50 less for a 17 than for an 18 inch wheel (about 25% cheaper, like from $240 to $190).   If you feel you need to replace the rims anyways (financially also needing to buy rims that are smaller would add up to more than just tires) then might be worth it.   Cheaper tires, more selection, more sidewall for a better ride and better handling of curb hopping/hitting and potholes, all good reasons go with a smaller rim.

I had the exact same issue on my 2011 Limited where both front door would always be ajar, or suddenly read open while driving.  I think the quote to replace the faulty sensors required disassembling the entire door panel and was a 2 hour job per door for a $40 sensor.    You can bypass the bad sensor with a magnetic switch   Refer to this video -        You can buy a simple window magnetic sensor for each door.  Make sure the switch supports Normally Open (NO) or Normally Closed (NC) so you have options.   Pick up neodymium magnets, wire, a post connector and some epoxy.   You can use a T-Tap connector to connect the magnetic sensors to the sensor wires  on each door (video gives you the wire colors for both doors).  Test it with the car on and the magnet from the switch to confirm it is wired correctly.   I like putting gorilla tape around the sensor screws.   Mount the sensor under the kick panel about level with the plastic bins on each door.    Position the sensor close to where you can epoxy the rare earth magnet on closest to the sensor.   Just tape it at first and test it out, then when you feel it's consistent epoxy it in place.    Did that almost a year ago and no issues since.