You need to think between the lines here, you have already answered you first question if you do. Why do you think Scawen & the dev's are going this way, I can't help but think that there is a bigger picture at play here.
Remember this is a test patch and with it comes the ability to download Hi-Res skins. Now what if DDS was to become the normal skin format. Think of the possibilities with skin layering and effects that DDS allow. But for now Scawen needs to adapt his future plans into the constraints with the game engine as it is today and see if it works and is feasible.
As for your second point, players swapping skins between themselves, it won't happen for obvious reasons that have already been answered in many other threads, it is do with content censorship, they can't allow the transfer of political & ethically sensitive material.
We as early adopters who use the test patch need to keep an open mind and go with the flow and enjoy the journey and above all be thankful that Scawen allows us to be a part of the LFS development plans. With that in mind we should also be mindful of what we put into this part of the forum, it needs to be constructive & relevant.