Nice job getting busy with it!
I get what you're asking and I think you are correct. Of course, I may well be missing something obvious too, though, being digital, it's never really bothered me.
There is the option of doing "test shots", which could be the software's (lame) attempt to compensate for what you are wanting.
You can set the brightness of the "live view" window by where you set the zoom rectangle on the image. However, I've always just shot and adjusted exposure to produce a decent image. In theory, in RAW mode, exposure isn't that critical as one can always adjust substantially in post, but I usually bracket exposure to help train myself to critically evaluate exposure and to be aware of the settings.