@Astrassman -- Definitely check out map actions, as @KatClifton mentioned. Those are a great tool to lead your audience through your maps and geographic information in a directed way. You can create layers in a web map with different queries and turn those on/off using map action buttons or links.
The type of rich exploratory experience you are describing that would access many different layers with drop down menus, etc. is not something we plan to build into StoryMaps. The tools our team focuses on facilitate storytelling and communication rather than analysis or investigative workflows, and the type of experience you are describing seems much more like an "app" than a "story."
However, there are probably several options for building something like this using ArcGIS Instant Apps or Experience Builder. Once you build that other app, you could easily embed it in a story, but I would recommend that it would likely be better to introduce the app, perhaps walk through some examples of using it in the story and then simply link out to this app from your story. The main reason for this is that the experience you describe seems like it would benefit from being opened in a full browser tab rather than be embedded in a smaller frame inside a story, so embedding it might compromise the experience of using it.
Owen Evans
Lead Product Engineer | StoryMaps