Your original questions were:
The questions concerns the color mode:
- If set at sRGB at the time of capture, does ACR uses the camera EXIF setting (sRGB) as it does for the white balance?
- If so, should not color mode be a choice BEFORE opening the raw capture in ACR?
What am I missing here?
The answer to question 1. is No for camera-produced RAWs and Yes for camera-produced JPGs.
The answer to question 2. is Not-Applicable because the answer to question 1 is not Yes.
The answer to the last question is Unknown.