Good post, with good advice.
Of course, the most important point is to hold your bitcoin in your personal wallet, and NOT on any exchange.
Until a few months ago, I had kept all my bitcoin on a Singapore-based exchange. Then, just a few days before the fork in August, I realized that I had to get it off the exchange. After a few days of scrambling to find a good wallet, I succeeded.
Very glad that I did.
Yes, Exchanges are risky. I just read a post about Bittrex deactivating user accounts from different countries and users complaining to cointelegraph. It's just not a good practice to leave your coins on exchange. I hope to get out of Bittrex soon.
As the crypto-space grows, we'll get more exchanges that are in it for only their own profit. And they'll take it anyway they can, legal or illegal, by hook or by crook.