Deadband controls center slop, period. If your joystick pulls loosly from center for half an inch or more before engageing the springs deadband can be used to set where action starts.
IE my 5 year old MS Sidewinder 3d pro at the end needed an inch of deadband because of wear & sloppy springs. Does not really effect the sliders.
The sliders are in effect 9 slices of your joysticks "throw" ie from center to straight back or straight forward (for pitch). That distance from center to far edge is broken into pieces, each slider represents one piece.
Setting all sliders to max across the board does give you the maximum possible responce, but at a cost. It can be very easy to overcontrol. The default step up from low left to high right gives progressive control. A curve from low left to high right gives a more gentle progressive control.
IE inputs start small, but the farther back you pull the more input you get.
Damper btw helps control overall sensitivity. As such it should be treated with respect, make small changes, test for "feel", then adjust again.
