The Odds have an expectation of 0%, making them one of the few bets in a casino that have no House Edge working against the player. Of course, you must make either a Pass or Don’t Pass bet to make an Odds bet, and those bets do come with a House Edge against you. With that said, there is no mathematical expectation difference between betting the Odds on any number as opposed to any other number as all Odds bets have a House Edge of 0%.
Unfortunately, the second one is just completely wrong. Seventeen is a bad hand for the dealer, so you would prefer a game in which the dealer must stand. I know it doesn’t seem that way because a Hit would seem to give the dealer a chance to eventually bust if you have a total of 12-16, but the dealer could beat your seventeen total if he has to hit rather than just a Push. Also, the dealer is more likely to make a hand of Hard 17 all the way to 18-21 rather than bust. In fact, there are four ranks that give the dealer a better hand with one card (A-4) four ranks that give the dealer a Hard 17 anyway (All Tens) and only five ranks which put the dealer in a position that he might bust (5-9).
Ultimately, the player finishes with a total of 17-21 frequently enough that he is better off if the dealer Stands on Soft-17. Switching the Rules from S17 to H17 adds approximately 0.2-0.22% to the House Edge depending on the other rules and number of decks used.