Haha thnks..I agree with the caveats.

Hmmn..I'd say with

A: Pretend you are dumber so they feel less threatened (Its their strong leadership that is making you good). This sux and makes you fake if you don't genuinely learn to look for things they are better then you and accept it as mentoring.
B:True...Not so straight forward...but most employers these days want to talk to your last/current immediate boss, certainly its no guarantee they will chose you to replace or be in a position to, but having them on side is not going to hurt.

Personally I prefer genuine relationships that don't need butt licking or ego stroking - if you look at the boss as human being, whom which you want to support and believe its worth it, it just got 10X easier to help them focus on their strength...but sometimes we don't get this.