Hiding that element is fairly easy. Open the GUIScript.cs file and comment out this line:
info.text = "ESC - Menu";
For Control Freak, it's not well documented, so apologies on that. But here's some tips that should help you set it up.
First, copy the CF prefab you want to use and edit that instead. Much easier in case you make a mistake. Don't forget to assign it in the Input Options.
To get the CF pause button to work:
In the CF prefab open Touch Zones and click the arrow to find the PAUSE zone. At the bottom, there's a Button Name field.
Then in UFE Global Options | Input Options, open up Player 1 Inputs and find the input for the UFE Button Start (should be at bottom). The CF Button Name here should match the Button name field in the CF prefab.
Adjusting layout:
CF works with a layout system where the buttons and joysticks are positioned as offsets inside the layout. So when you change the position in the Touch Zone or Stick section, you can only go as much as the layout determines you can. You'll notice by default the layout that the buttons are assigned to is Butons-Box and only covers the bottom right portion of the screen. So touches outside this layout will not be recognised for this layout group.
In the Layout, you can enable Draw Debug Region and assign a color to it. This can help you see what portion of the screen this layout will cover.
Hope that helps with Control Freak usage. I've spent a bit of time with it now, so let me know if there's anything else you want to know about it.