Hey there!
You can totally use morph targets! That’s actually what I’m doing on Fortnite. And you can actually create the animation in engine if you want by adding a float curve in persona, and then typing in the name of the morph target you want that curve to drive. Then you can animate away!
For your second question, I have no idea. I’m sure it is, but you may want to post up an answer hub thread and have one of our shader dudes give you the best answer. I’m definitely not the best person for that question