Can "more than" indicate degrees?

Question

‎This tree is strange. The lower branches protrude from the trunk more than the upper branches (protrude).

I created the above sentence. I want to know if this type of usage of "more than" is correct. Another example is as follows:

This cover film protects your iphone more than that cover film (protects).

I think "more than" in the first should be "longer than" and "more than" in the second should be "more effectively/reliably than", but want to know whether the original sentences are grammatically correct.

Answer 1

Yes, you can use "more than" in relation to a verb without needing an adverb stuck between those two words, as long as the meaning is clear.

Answer 2

More works with countable and uncountable things.

I took more pieces of candy.

I took more water.

Using more in a comparative sense doesn't affect the above.

I took more pieces of candy than Sally took.

I took more water than Sally took.

Answer 3

For the first one, "protruding longer" sounds very strange to my ear as a native speaker. Though not wrong, it does not sound like something I would ever say. Thinking about it, I feel it is because protrusion already implies a length, so stating length again by putting "longer" after it does not sound right.

For the second, "more than" can easily work on its own, as I feel the better protection and reliability is already implied. It would work with and it does work without.