Caro Kann and variations

As black, what are some of the best continuations against the main responses to the caro Kann?

For the advance version I play e4 c6 d4 d5 e5 Bf5, getting my bishop out (I know that's pretty standard, I was curious if there were any better lines out there)

For the exchange variation, I used to play cxd5, but I eventually decided that it was too much of a drawish position (I may be wrong about that, if anyone could explain why not, that would be amazing :)), and switched to Qxd5, the scandinavian, which while is perfectly sound, doesn't have a whole lot to do after ... Qa5 ... Qc7

If white puts his knight out, either Nd2 or Nf3, I will respond dxe4, Nxe4, Nf6!?, which after Nxf6+, gxf6, transposes into an attacking variation. However, recently I've been running into trouble with this variation (mostly if white doesn't castle kingside) because the attack is next to useless and appears dead to me. I usually only win if my opponent blunders (sadly, at my rating, that's pretty often).

What other continuations would you recommend instead of Nf6!?, or if playing Nf6, how would you go about continuing the game?

Thanks, advice much appreciated!

Here is what i normally do

Ok, fiveofswords, being an ignorant and rather poor chess player, was the reason you didn't play Bg5 in order to save that bishop for a fianchetto? Or was there a more specific reason, like it would be under a lot of pressure/attacked more than black wanted on Bg5?

I take it you mean Bg4 for black's light squared bishop (LB)? Black's LB belongs on b7 because then it "controls" many key squares, especially d5.

The Bxc3 idea is fine for some, but another possibility is to bring the DB back to e7.  The reason i like this settup (LB on b7, DB on e7, Ns on c6 and f6) is because it is flexible and easy to reach in nearly all variations of the Panov. From there (the aforementioned settup) you play to control d5.  

Bf5 against the advance is fine imo.

Against the exchange you should play Qc7 line:

And in the main lines you should play dynamic like this:

In my eyes the exchange Caro-Kann doesn't seem at all drawish. Because the pawn formation is assymmetrical it should be much less drawish than the exchange  French and imo even that variation is not so drawish as some people make you believe. If white goes for the Panov attack then we typically have a position with isolated d-pawn or with hanging pawns that are very rich and complex strategically. I don't have much experience with the systems where white declines from c4 but I would imagine that black shoul have the standard minority attack on the queenside available. These positions are infact bit like the exchange version of the Queens Gambit with reverse colours (the so called Carlsbad structure) and one of the main advantages white has there is that he has an obvious plan and black hasn't making whites position easier to play.

Well the plan in minority attack pawn structures is always the same. The person facing the minority attack has the choice of either attack in the center or to attack the king.