Are ‘nor’ and ‘help straighten matters as regards’ correctly used in my text below?

Are ‘nor’ and ‘help straighten matters as regards’ correctly used in my text below?

I told my classmates that Mr. Dickson, Mr. Lewis, and Mrs. Gray, the members of the oral defense panel, are not scarecrows, nor are they fierce animals that can do us harm, but that they are guides who can help straighten matters as regards our research works.