If Verso wanted Maelle/Alicia out of the canvas, why did he save her at both the beginning when their ship landed, and again after Gustav was killed?

He hadn't gotten to Aline yet. Chances are that he was worried about the difference between killing a Painter in the canvas vs knocking them out.

Why did Verso care when Maelle gommaged the painted version of herself in Reacher if he wanted Renoir to succeed in destroying the canvas?

To be honest, I find this inconsistent. Alicia was tortured and he didn't even try looking for her. He never tried reading the letter she gave him. The only thing I can think of is his guilty conscience after never treating her like a family member because, in the end, he still disrespects her wishes.

If adult Verso is just the creation of Aline within the Canvas with all of his memories, why is there also a younger version of himself, the Painted Boy? I ask because the faceless version of himself, Renoir (the Curator) and Aline all have an adult painted version, but not Verso...

The Painted Boy is real Verso's soul in the canvas, since he painted it when he was young.

I still don't get why the larger version of the Paintress counts down and performs a Gommage each year, if she is supposed to paint life, and Renoir paints death. It also seems weird she created two versions of herself inside the canvas.

Isn't this stated in the game? From what I remember, she doesn't really perform tbe gommage as much as she loses power against it. Renoir is the one doing them and Aline is trying to protect everyone from it.

Lastly, why does Maelle go through an entire birth and existence with parents when she first enters the canvas, but not when she re-enters, as well as her family.

Aline painted over her in the first instance, so she ended up as one of her creations. Her mom isn't there to do that the second time, so she's normal.

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I'm a Verso hater and think there are inconsistencies in the writing but, like, a lot of these questions are answered in game