Yes, you need a higher-level spell and the creatures is more powerful. Magical Lineage does nothing, because it's not a metamagic feat.
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If you have time to stat out your summons, use the rebuild rules.
If you just decided that a crocodile would be better than your normal velociraptor, and you're literally thumbing through the Bestiary before your turn in combat, use the quick rules.
Just search through the available Druid Shamans to see if you can find one that summons herd animals. I'm personally not aware of one, but there may be one out there.
No, gifted adept doesn't do anything like that. It increases your caster level when casting the spell, but doesn't affect the spell level at all.
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I played a Saurian Shaman to 13th level in PFS (and hope to take him all the way to 20). I can say from experience, and multiple bouts of playtesting, that the Young Template was by far the best bang for your buck anyways.
The penalties for being Young are mostly offset by the bonuses granted by the Augment Summoning feat. You're left with a creature that's (usually) +1 AC, +1 Reflex, +1 to-hit, -1 damage per attack, and fits better down hallways. DCs of your special abilities (like the Akylosaur's Stun) also remain the same as the base creature.
Summoning Young versions of Ankylosaurus, Triceratops, Brachiosaurus, and Tyrannosaurs effectively two character levels before you get the regular versions was a very strong option. The extra Hit Points from Totemic Summoning was a nice little boon as well.
In that regard, if you took Gifted Adept, your summons using that spell would have +1 hit point, but I'd strongly avoid doing it for just that reason.