As GG said. Make sure you remove the IRD filler plug before draining the oil, although it is possible to get an mount of oil in through the rear of the casing, once the rear output pinion is removed.
75w90 fully synthetic. Although if the oil that comes out it full of particulate matter (metal flecks), the you'll need to change it a few times, which means a semi-synthetic oil can be used for short time spans.
I was reading an article on how bearings fail. It said they basically overheat and deteriorate. You can see in those pics how that may have happened with chunks having been stripped from them. They haven't just 'worn down' or else presumably they would be all shiny.
What's on the drain plug has some use as an indicator of condition. However the mag-plug is there to remove ferrous material left over from manufacturing and "break in" period. As you say, the condition of the oil is far more telling as to the condition of the bearings.
the bearing wears over time till hard facing is worn through the softer center does then pit,the increased friction creates heat and burns oil into the surface
the bearing race in your pic looks like failure from wear not contamination, its shiny and dosent have the speckled effect from debris pressed into the surface
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