I've set it up to possess a random nearby friendly NPC. This seems to work better than static spawn points as the NPCs are usually closer to the action. I don't think the camera transition is great though and could probably use something better?
Tagging this NSFW because its got a lot of blood and stuff.
It's a good idea! The camera transition would probably be better if you the camera moved upwards while looking down, then moved horizontally, then moved down again.
I think that honestly depends on the maps! I'd probably implement it so you can smoothly interpolate between completely square movement & half circle movement with the apex at a configurable height, and then play around with it.