"like" can function as a preposition, being followed by a noun phrase (NP), or as a conjunction (being synonymous with -- but more colloquial than -- "as if"), being followed by a clause.
(1') and (3') don't make sense because an action in the past tense is required to account for the current smell of the place or the current temperature of the cup, and the past meaning is not conveyed by V-ing.
I think (2') would be better if "crying" preceded "baby":
2''. It sounds like a crying baby.
Contrary to what @BillJ claimed (and probably downvoted me for), many consider "like" followed by a NP to be a preposition, NOT an adjective:
Source 1
like /laɪk/ preposition
1 SIMILAR similar to something else, or happening in the same way
Her hair is dark brown like mine.
A club should be like a big family.
He eats like a pig!
look/sound/feel/taste/seem like
The garden looked like a jungle.
At last he felt like a real soldier.
My experience is very much like that described in the book.
He’s very like his brother.
Sometimes you sound just like (=exactly like) my mum!
He’s growing more like his father every day.
He looked nothing like (=not at all like) the man in the police photograph.
Source 2
like preposition
Definition of like (Entry 4 of 9)
1a : having the characteristics of : similar to
his house is like a barn
it's like when we were kids
b : typical of
was like him to do that
c : comparable to : APPROXIMATING
costs something like fifty cents
2 : in the manner of : similarly to
acts like a fool
3 : as though there would be
looks like rain
4 : such as
a subject like physics
5 —used to form intensive or ironic phrases
fought like hell
like fun he did
laughed like anything
Source 3
like
PREPOSITION
1 Having the same characteristics or qualities as; similar to.
‘he used to have a car like mine’
‘they were like brothers’
‘she looked nothing like Audrey Hepburn’
1.1 In the manner of; in the same way or to the same degree as.
‘he was screaming like a banshee’
1.2 In a way appropriate to.
‘students were angry at being treated like children’
1.3 Such as one might expect from; characteristic of.
‘just like you to put a damper on people's enjoyment’
1.4 Used in questions to ask about the characteristics or nature of someone or something.
‘what is it like to be a tuna fisherman?’
‘what's she like?’
2 Used to draw attention to the nature of an action or event.
‘I apologize for coming over unannounced like this’
‘why are you talking about me like that?’
3 Such as; for example.
‘the cautionary vision of works like Animal Farm and 1984’
Source 4
Like can be used in the following ways:
as a preposition (followed by a noun):
He looks like his father.
as a conjunction (connecting two clauses):
She looked like she was about to cry.
as an adverb:
I said, like, you can’t do this to me.
as an adjective, especially in the phrase ‘of like mind’