Captain,
Your questions and concerns are directed at a very small portion of the very large risk cost of drilling a well. To the exploration company the risk to reward ratio must warrant the total cost of leasing, permitting, drilling and completion costs. If the cost of leasing makes the total cost too high they won't pay to explore their geologic ideas which are at the heart of all exploration projects. The companies don't drill because they have leases, they drill because they have leased over a strong geologic prospect that if successful, will make it worth their economic needs (potential returns) to stay in business.
For the mineral owner, the key is to know how much the exploration company will pay for bonuses and how much of the production they are willing to give up in royalty to obtain their needed return on a huge investment. The big responsibility the mineral owner has to himself is not how much cash he can generate up front but how much cash he will get from a successful well's production. And that means not only the percent royalty but how that royalty payment is protected by the terms of the lease.
So your concerns may not really matter except in the short term. In the long term you are risking your asset by tying it up and you hope the exploration company will risk its funds to prove production. The lease broker is a hired gun in this transaction and has no significant risk at all.