Once one accepts the premise, perhaps. But it's a pretty weird premise, IMO.
Perhaps
No, they're attributing the same attributes to dead people that they do to live ones.
But is this fair? And on what is it based?
Don't you ever ask anyone else to pray for you? Does it place an "intercessory" between God and you?
I do, but it does not place them between God and I, simply beside me. I know it's a small difference here, but still a difference. It's like taking a bullet for someone and pushing someone out of the way of a bullet.....both work towards an end result, the difference being, in this Jesus took my bullet? Crude analogy....but then again, I'm bad with analogies.
Sure. The Catholic Church proclaims that certain people are saints, but it doesn't say that there aren't other saints as well.
Well then what's to prevent someone to spend their life praying to someone who maybe never had a relationship with God, has no concern nor desire for the wellbeing or benefit of the person praying?
The idea of prayer to the saints isn't that you're asking a saint to do what you'd normally ask God to do; the idea is that you ask the saints to pray to God on your behalf.