As For tech, I ALWAYS go Free subjects. It gives a tech boost as well as a Army Moral boost. To me, this is the easiest slider to move, as there are alot of events to halp with it. Plus, It gives a wonderful event where you lose two inflation.
After my Free Subjects bar is filled, I go for the Innovative, but I dont go full on Innovative until AFTER the reformation hits, as it will cause major religious turmoil resulting in a war.
Also, the more uncored provinces you have, the harder it is to gain tech. So I never usually attack a nation that I dont have a core or mission on. The More Infamy you have, the harder it is to gain tech. So Unless I feel like being a warmonger like Scotland or Brittany, I tend to want to keep it lower then 20.
As for the first time inheritance, the secret is diplomacy. When you are stronger then the other nation, it depends on how much more Diplomatic your nation is. How to increase Diplomacy? Easy. Making a Sphere of influence. When I was the Emperor and France went through two Kings, I started making a Sphere. 1 nation in your sphere means one point to diplomacy, and you can add as many nations to your sphere as you want. The only thing it cost is prestige. Being the Emperor with Two Imperial Reforms made it that I gained nearly 10 prestige a year, so making a Sphere was easy. I will upload a screen of my Sphere later to show you.