Dovecot | Sendmail using system users and aliases.....

So I have tried setting up Dovecot/Postfix/MySQL, and it's getting nowhere. I can see mail traffic, but can't access it in any way shape or form.

I have a slightly unique server setup currently at my VPS and I want to just replicate the setup here, but two different dovecot versions. (2.0.9-VPS / 2.2.9-Linode)

I want to have the ssh users login with their password to get email.

I need to set up aliases for these users.

I need a catchall account to get any email sent to the domain. (I often use theirdomain@mydomain.com to see who spams me)

I need to be able to blackhole certain aliases (for those that spam me too much)

I would prefer to just do a simple dovecot sendmail MTA at this point and be done with it.

Can anyone point me in the right direction for some guidance on how to make this happen?

(Not a newb, not an expert - just need some friendly help)

Thanks in advance!

Mike

[edit - also am I just better off to apt-get purge the other packages? dovecot & postfix - Ubuntu 14.04]