Let's discuss each one of your points.
1) It could have been, but that would have made it very heavy and a challenge to launch
2) There is no easy answer here. Geostationary orbit is good for communications but is not so good for weather surveillance, mapping, and navigation. At a geosynchronous altitude of just under 36,000 km, it is hard to make out the details in images. A plus to being that high is you are probably less susceptible to EMP that would take out most satellites in LEO or MEO. It is most likely that it is in MEO at an altitude around 15,000 km giving it a period of about 8.6 hours.
3) There are reasons we traditionally have satellite lifespans of 15-20 years. There is a lot of ionizing radiation out there. Even with shielding, charges build up on the surface and on insulators in the craft that will eventually short out and fry something. This is one reason I put the orbit at 15,000 km. That keeps you out of the worst of the Van Allen belts while being relatively safer from EMP.
4) Here we might just have an advantage. Since it is just sitting up there idle and waiting for an activation command, it is unlikely to be a target for anti-satellite weapons. Unless someone picked this "dead" object for target practice.
5) This is a big problem and even without space warfare is problematic if the Kessler effect proves to be a real factor. You can armor up, but that costs you a lot in weight and launch costs. It's hard to hide a launch vehicle that can lift a lot of mass into orbit.
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