William Harley

Hi here are some examples of how to create controls groups and custom triggers.

Yes, that is not possible at the moment.

This is how you add blendshapes to the mesh.
https://www.sidefx.com/docs/houdini/character/kinefx/blendshapes.html [www.sidefx.com]

This is the standard way to add blendshapes to a character for kinefx and Apex.
In the apex rig use the blendshape component,
https://www.sidefx.com/docs/houdini//character/kinefx/rig_components/blendshape.html [www.sidefx.com]
it will automatically pick up the blendshapes from the mesh and create sliders for them in the viewport.