For Canada: None of the basement recepts have to be GFCI except for the bathroom. The laundry room does not need to be GFCI. Exposed wiring only has to be out of harm's way, which means any NM cable must be run through holes bored in the studs, not stapled to any outside surfaces of studs. For the ceiling, any runs of NM should be drilled through the floor joists. If you don't want to drill, then attach a running board of 1X3 or 1X4 to the bottom of the joists and staple the NM directly to that. The idea is that one should never hang anything from exposed NM. However, if the ceiling will be protected eventually, as in a suspended ceiling or drywall, then you can staple the NM directly to the bottom of the joists.

Typically the new recessed boxes for behind the tv offer a dividing plate that make it ok/legal (at least here in BC) for power to co-exist in the box with low voltage - ie one section/gang is power, separated. Next section/s will be your RG6 cable, cat 5e/6 for internet, etc. As for running the hdmi through the wall, legalities/plenum rating aside - since it's most likely 'temporary' since it feeds in and out of the wall, as a pre-made cable, it may not be much of an issue. What we do in new construction is run a piece of 'core flex' flexible conduit in the wall, rated for such use, from the tv box down to the spot where you'll have your blu-ray, cable box etc, together with a pull string - you can feed your cable through it and theoretically it's no longer 'in the wall' since it's enclosed. I'm not going into the legalities. You can also use central vac pipe - if you made the opening for it just an LV mud ring, you might even be able to feed the stuff into an existing wall. It runs roughly between the tv box and the box for the cable etc, again as a guide for the hdmi. For a nice looking finish, you can either use fittings that are a coupler for cables, so your hdmi would plug into this coupler/finish plate, and you'd use another cable to run to tv/cable etc. That ends up being a lot of cables and connections, what's simpler is a "nose plate" that fits a decora plate and is a hooded arrangement you can have sticking out, or recessed in, and you pull your hdmi or whatever cable out, so you only need a single. This also allows you to bring a few others out as well, component, audio etc. I've thrown in one example, I'm sure there's a bunch of manufacturers and suppliers. Here is a link that might be useful: decora nose plate

The wall separating the two closets might be load-bearing. It runs perpendicular to the ceiling joists. I also don’t want to remove it for aesthetic reasons. If electrical is an issue, I might spring for an electrician to add 2 more circuits for the washer and dryer. The electrical panel is in the current laundry closet and there is room in the panel. Hopefully it won’t take them too long to run the wiring. The electricians are local and a bit less expensive than the plumbers. Is it OK to run plumbing hoses through the wall? I know they run them through cabinets in the kitchen for dishwashers. I can make a cased enclosed window opening for the 3 plumbing attachments. It can be as big as needed. If I have electrical outlets installed in the new closet, I don’t need to use conduits - I just need a passthrough for the hot water, cold water and drain hoses which could be a window-like opening. Or I could use a large PVC pipe to line the passthrough. If a plumber comes, I want them to tap into the existing hot, cold and drain lines and add an additional hookup station. That might take the price way up since they charge for the long drive and send two people. I don’t really want to install additional plumbing for this.

If I did the plugmold, I would definitely get the low profile type. And would be very specific on where it gets installed. I've found some that also have USB plugs. We will have a dedicated drawer for charging phones, etc., but having a couple USB plugs under the cabinets might be good. So much to think about! @wdccruise I was going to search backsplash photos on here to see if there were any horizontal outlets/switches, but now I don't have to lol. But I still probably will. We have both Decora and Maestro switches throughout the house. I'm just not sure how they will look sideways. Will confuse my MIL for sure lol. She has a hard enough time with the Maestro switches when she cat sits for us. A sideways switch might blow her mind! Definitely need to find some pics or do a mock up somehow.