1a. https://neunaber.net/collections/pedals/products/immerse-mk-ii
https://saturnworkspedals.com/product/dark-matter-tube-overdrive-pedal/
https://deepspacedevices.com/product/golem/
I like the warm sound that most of these pedals bring to the guitars that they’re tested with. The art design on most of them are great as well, particularly the dark matter tube overdrive
1b. Larger companies seem to be making more standard, all encompassing pedals, whereas smaller companies are making more unique and specific pedals.
1c. The Korg Miku is a pedal that converts guitar tone into the sound of japanese vocaloid Hatsune Miku’s voice. I have absolutely no idea who would ever want to use this pedal, but there is no denying that it is unique.
2. Latching switch

3. A momentary switch will not remain activated when no longer being activated, whereas a latching switch does. A latching switch is good for turning an effect on or off, whereas a momentary switch is good for a pedal that is only active when held down.