His progression should be covered in his first arc, and then not brought up anymore than the Flash getting his entire body charred by the lightning and chemicals.
Beginning of first arc to end of first arc:
Thematically, this would show a fear of the technological unknown to an embracing of it, where he looks sleek/advanced when in action and can look fully normal anytime he wants.
In terms of Film and TV production, this has to make it easier/cheaper to make Cyborg live-action material.
Yes, agreed-- He works with/for STAR Labs, who are constantly learning and exploring. He should take full advantage of how big the DCU is, finding himself in all sorts of interesting places.
You can also have him team up with other underutilized scientist characters, from Dr. Veritas to The Atom to that guy who created the AMAZO OS.