Hi Grant,
Great question, 3.3 sits right on the cusp of minimum verified working logic voltage of the WS2812b
If there’s a bit of droop in the supply voltage (depends on the circuit powering the strip) that 0.7*Vdd can easily get low enough for 3.3V to be acceptable 3.3 = 0.7 * 4.7
I think that’s #1 addressed
#2 is a bit more complex, its really a culmination of things, some ESP32 boards have some form of level shifting on them now to allow for a single strip of LED’s to be run. but as long as the first LED receives a clear signal it will repeat it the string at a logic level of 5V.
#3 There isn’t a massive risk of damage, absolute best practice is to include a resistor after the pin feeding into a logic level converter into the LED’s this makes sure the pin isn’t having to push too much current (there is some stray capacitances from the wires that might cause damage
The WS2812bV5 chips have a confirmed logic voltage of less than 3.3v so will definitely work(the same chips used in the GlowBits)
