The classic dalek was usually grey/silver in colour, but they were ranked and the body casing showed this rank with the Black Dalek being the highest ranked dalek generally seen. It does not seem to have entitled it to anything more than the ability to give commands - the weapon was the standard dalek discharge weapon while the manipulator was either the claw type as above, or the more usual sucker arrangement seen in the TV adventures. Vision was provided by the eye stalk which had a degree of up and down movement as well as a complete 360 degrees of rotation.
Although originally they could not manage stairways, by the end of the original series of Doctor Who, they had been fitted with anti-gravity devices that overcame this problem.