Here is a question to ponder. How much direction did the Holy Spirit give to early Church leaders?

Answer: Enough.

I recently read an article making the point that there is a difference between revelation and inspiration. Revelation is receiving a message from God, whereas inspiration is being led to correctly report what has happened or what God wants said. Some things were made known to Paul (and others) by revelation (Eph. 3:3, Gal. 1:12, 2:2). Paul wrote by inspiration. I would contend that Paul wrote by inspiration even when he said "I say this (I, not the Lord)" (1 Cor 7:12 NIV). What he is saying in the statements that follow is not a revelation, it is a conclusion Paul has come to through his understanding of the situation, and the scriptures, his experience, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. When Peter speaks of Paul's writings he refers to them as "scriptures" on the same level as the Old Testament (2 Pet. 3:15-16).
Inspiration let Paul speak as Paul (and Peter as Peter, etc.), with his own intellect and experience and vocabulary, and still convey the truth that God wanted to be taught and preserved.
Interestingly, even on an occasion when Paul made a rather rash statement that caused a tumult (Acts 23:6-10) which he later may have regretted (Acts 24:20-21) he seems to have spoken truly.
It is important I think to distinguish the idea of inspiration from the idea of dictation. It would be a mistake to think the teachings in the church of the apostolic era, or the writings of the Bible, came about by God dumping unlearned information into individuals for rote regurgitation, or seized their writing fingers or tongue to use them as mindless robots. 1 Cor. 14 defies that perspective of the Spirit's work, advocating personal intelligent control at all times, and advocating the conscious cultivation of useful spiritual gifts.