Answering Q2:
Maybe there are smarter solutions, but this one works as well:
angular.module('myApp').controller('MenuCtrl', ['$scope', '$location', '$rootScope',
function ($scope, $location, $rootScope) {
$rootScope.$on('$locationChangeSuccess', function () {
var path = $location.path();
// you may apply logic on the path (group together in case of dropdown-menu e.g.)
$scope.topMenu = path;
});
}
]);
<div class="navbar navbar-inverse navbar-fixed-top" role="navigation"
ng-controller="MenuCtrl">
<div class="container-fluid">
<div class="navbar-header">
<!-- ... -->
</div>
<div class="navbar-collapse collapse" id="navbar-collapse-1">
<ul class="nav navbar-nav navbar-right">
<li ng-class="{active: topMenu == '/'}">
<a href="#">Home</a></li>
<li ng-class="{active: topMenu == '/about'}">
<a href="#about">About</a></li>
<!-- more... -->
</ul>
</div>
</div>
</div>