Thanks for the further comments guys, particularly those 3 pointers Michel.
I had a go at solving the problem today and addressed all 3 of these issues.
Juji you are RIGHT man, those decisions were based on Sibelius playback.
I guess a crescendo probably would work well on the violins when played by actual musicians.
Anyway, I'll post the new score tomorrow (don't have it on this computer) and you guys can rip me to shreds again.
Thanks.