"I let it run the defaults, and noted, that it clearly did not add a 'complete' set of packages, and only seemd to update what was on my local archive."

"What I would want is not to mirror the *complete* archive, but only the latest versions of each package version."

That's what CPAN::Mini does by default. What did your log file say? Without showing what you did and what happened (logs), you are asking for needless guess work. How do I post a question effectively?.

"Am I imagining things, or is Google/DDG getting alot sparser in responses to searches about tech queries?"

Nobody can sensibly answer this, as it depends on what searches you do, what questions you ask etc...