I plan to play a character with class levels and natural weapons, such as claws. Specifically, I'm interested it making her claws her primary weapons. What feats or class features would (or wouldn't) be usable with claws? Do claws qualify as "melee weapon attacks" or as "unarmed attacks"? Do other natural attacks such as a bite qualify as the same?
Bonus question: Would spiked or clawed gauntlets likewise be treated the same?
In general, natural weapons, including claws and bites, are not unarmed strikes. This is confirmed by Jeremy Crawford here.
However, in Volo's Guide to Monsters, the Tabaxi and Lizardfolk races both have natural weapons that count as unarmed strikes, claws and a bite respectively.
Cat's Claws (Tabaxi, pg. 115) states:
...your claws are natural weapons which you use to make unarmed strikes
Bite (Lizardfolk, pg. 113) states:
Your fanged maw is a natural weapon, which you can use to make unarmed strikes.
Since specific beats general, your natural weapons can be used for unarmed strikes only if the description of the natural weapon explicitly says so.
As for a gauntlet, or other such item, it would be DM fiat. There is no such item in the game so far that I am aware of, so such an item and all of its properties, including whether it counts as an unarmed strike, would be homebrew.
