I'd basically like to make it such that when the player hits New Game, they start as a pre-defined character (I'm making a new game with a linear story and named protagonist), wake up on this bed, and then stand up.
Problems are:
I don't know how to make the camera do what I want.
I don't know how to pre-empt the opening cinematic stuff.
I don't know how to make it such that the player is a pre-defined character.

Any help on any of these issues would be appreciated.

Oh, and if there is a way to do this sort of like CTest does, where if you type in the code to the place you start as the character as I have them set up, that would be fine.

Well, you can bypass the starter quest fairly easily...first, make a copy of the opening quest so you can re-build the stages of starting the game (The opening credits, etc), and add a popup box to the opening quest's stage 10 that asks "Use (YourModNameHere) Alternate opening? Y/N" - if the player answers "yes", have it call Start() on your alternate quest, and then call Stop() on the opening quest, and make your quest do whatever intro you want, load your premade character, and start off your new questline. Keep in mind, it will break a lot of other quests unless you trigger the stages of the starter quest to enable the right variables to enable the other quests in the MQ before shutting it down.

You can do it without editing the main quest at all if you want, by having your alternate quest check quest MQ101 for Stage=10 and popping up the box itself and killing the other quest remotely, though it won't be as accurate in stopping the starter quest before it fades up to the "riding the cart" scene, turning off the first person geometry, and so on.

To skip the opening stuff, take a look at the MQ101 quest.
You can also have a look at Arthmoor's alternate start mod or my quickstart mod:
http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/downloads/file.php?id=9557
http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/downloads/file.php?id=8207

It's relatively easy to just skip the opening, but harder to get everything to work *as if the opening had happened* e.g. for Helgen to be destroyed.

Would modifying the "Player" Actor work for creating a predefined character?

Havin Helgen be destroyed is unnecessary, the player will never see Skyrim throughout the game.
I'll try the Player actor thing.

How do I make a popup box with more than one option?

	Int iButton = YourOptionsMESG.Show()	If (iButton != -1)		; Unconditional stuff		If (iButton == 0)			; Conditional stuff		ElseIf (iButton == 1)			; Other onditional stuff		ElseIf (iButton == 2)			; etc...		ElseIf (iButton == 3)		ElseIf (iButton == 4)		ElseIf (iButton == 5)		ElseIf (iButton == 6)		ElseIf (iButton == 7)		ElseIf (iButton == 8)		ElseIf (iButton == 9)		EndIf	EndIf

Keep in mind the MessageBox buttons can have conditions.

I think I understand what you're saying. Thanks!

Nope, I don't understand what you're saying. Why is this iButton int important? I don't understand how this relates to making messageboxes with more than one option...

iButton will contain a number that corresponds to the option the player selected.
You then check via if ... elseif which option that was, and pick the right code to run next.

I think he's wondering how you http://www.creationkit.com/Message what they look like, etc...

Ah yes, thank you both.