We just went through the NVC stage (finished last month). We only uploaded 1 passport-sized photograph of my wife + her passport bio page. That was all they needed. She brought a few to her interview but they didn't ask for them.
If your documents say submitted, then yes, it's ready for review. I wondered the same thing lol. Once it says submitted, it starts counting how long you've been waiting. The NVC processing time estimates seem pretty accurate. It was accurate to the day in our case! Sounds like you are fine from what you've said.