I'll provide an answer to your very first example which I believe will provide guidance to all of your punctuation questions.

Consider what punctuation is

It is a way to indicate to the reader that there are pauses in the spoken language. Originally all text was slammed together like:

thisisasentencewhichisverydifficulttoread

Orators had difficulty remembering where to pause and thus punctuation was born.

A comma means halfstop and a period means fullstop. Whatever that means.

Whatever Is Easiest To Read

So, the point is, do whatever helps your reader to read your story, article, etc in such a way that they do not stumble over your sentences.

Common Usage

Generally that means:

Adhere to common usage.

Whatever that means.

The Plight of the Semicolon

Most readers do not understand semicolons and it just makes them pause and think:

What did the writer mean here?

When readers pause when reading our text they may stop reading forever. That's why you should make it as simple as possible, but no simpler. (invoking Einstein here).

Your First Example

"Those things I said; I didn’t mean a word of it."

Readers understand periods far better than semicolons.

So, keep it simple and just make it two sentences.

What If Someone Spoke Those Sentences In Real Life?

You'd probably think they spoke two sentences, because you wouldn't differnetiate a halfstop of semicolon from a fullstop of a period.

So, since that is the sound you want to create in the user's head without her having to stop and think about what you meant, go ahead and just make it two sentences.

Summary of Keeping It Simple

Let this type of sound guide you in all of your punctuation and I think you will find it far easier and you will use less punctuation symbols and your readers will read more of your writing.

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