1. I was able to disable preview so they don’t show on location pages. But is there a way to keep them here on a category page?
In that case you need to hide it on the location pages with CSS, or create a duplicate GD Archive Item template you want to use for Custom Post Types
Places [or other CPT] > Settings > General > Show Advanced > Template Page Settings > Archive item page > choose your duplicate GD Archive Item template.
2. This worked but it shows comments now. Can i disable comments as well? I have comments disabled across the site and each listing has allow comments not ticked. Also is there a way to keep the favorite button? So no stars, no comments, just favorite option?
Remove this shortcode from the GD Archive Item template:
[gd_post_rating alignment='left']
3. Still looks wonky no matter what settings I pick. Any suggested settings for this?
Please link to the page where we can see your wonky categories widget, and explain what is wonky about it.
4. Thanks for looking into this
This is known bug with Yoast SEO, it is being worked on and a fix should be in the next update.