Mostly dry flat cider help

I have been reading the cider forum multiple days multiple hours and I am still utterly confused. Too many choices it seems

The wife has charged me with making her a cider. She just purchased me 4.5 gallons of unpasturised, no preservative fresh cider froma spring press at the local cider mill, so the job is in the next couple days. I'm thinking a 5 gallon carboy for primary fermentation/all fermentation with 4 gallons? And drink the half gallon now with spiced rum

She has placed no time limit on delivery. Fall cider season would be just fine by her. I will be bottling I think, as I bottle all my beer. No keezer yet for me.

Will an ale yeast die off at some level of sweatness if I add sugar of some sort, so I don't have to kill it off somehow and still be safe to bottle?

Some people say brew it fast and drink it fresh aka bottled within weeks others advocate ageing for months to clear. Which is it? If it needs to age for months I may have to buy a new carboy but oh well I only own two so no big deal. Both are full of beer right now that I need to bottle.

Just looking for a simple batch, beer didn't seem anywhere near as hard when I started.

If you're looking for dry, still cider, EdWort's Apfelwein is the obvious choice of HBT. By the way, add enough cider to fill your carboy all the way. This stuff doesn't krausen, and you'd be cheating yourself of drinkable goodness if you didn't fill it. AKA it's ok to use a gallon of store bought cider for the extra gallon, it'll be fine.

I just made a 2 gal batch with 2 gallons preservative-free apple juice, two sticks of cinnamon, a handful of raisins and EC-1118. Primary for 2.5 weeks. Secondary for 1-2 weeks (for clarity, if needed/desired) I bottled/primed and let it sit 4 weeks. It tasted great, but was dry and deceptively potent.

The juice I used was clear to start. I would suggest a clearing agent if yours is not. If you add more fermentables, you will need yeast nutrient. You should use apple juice concentrate if you want more sugars/something interesting to prime with.

I drank mine fresh from the bottle, un-refridgerated. I chilled a few and they kept their carbonation better, but I think the cider tasted better room-temp.

Ale yeast works well with cider, I use Nottingham a lot.
Nottingham should get you to around 9.5%
If you want still dry I would add 8 lbs sugar to your 5 gallons cider, This is assuming your fresh cider is around 1.054. Aerate it well and let it go.
I made 35 gallons of various ciders last November. I've just racked it into secondaries in the past few days. What I'm saying is.....don't rush it. I have added various flavorings and sugar additions in my secondaries. I will bottle and keg in July probaby if i have time.

It has taken every ounce of my patience but I am finally getting a pipeline that allows me to age a full year. I made 20 gallons fall 2010, I have managed to retain about 2/3 of that and am now reaping the rewards. It tastes so much better after adequate aging.Yes you can brew beverages that are drinkable sooner but my experience is that longer is better.