Hi Darren,
Welcome to Ublue world! I’m on Bluefin, but have played around with Aurora and Bazzite. Since no one has offered any comments yet, I’ll take a crack at #1. I think my comments will be applicable for you.
It depends on what kind of audio recording and production you will be doing. Podcasting, gaming, music, voiceover? Do you need professional quality equipment and software? Do you have a budget in mind? Your niche will determine the software and hardware you will want to set up.
I have recently gotten into voice narration as a hobby. I started playing around with a basic dynamic USB mic (Maono PD200x, for $63 which included a cheap boomarm). Quickly upgraded to a Scarlett Solo audio interface ($159) and Rode NT1 Signature Series condenser mic ($150). Great combo, with one gotcha that you should be aware of about condenser mics, phantom power, and connecting your computer to USB.
As far as software goes, the two DAWs I use are Audacity and Reaper. Both are highly regarded and come in flatpaks, making them easy to install. Reaper is for music production, but works well for voiceover work, and it has a solid following in that community. And it has a steep learning curve. Audacity is kinda the “getting started” gold standard for voice work, but pros use it too. Maybe not so much for music production. By the way, did I mention that Reaper has a steep learning curve?
In my experience with Bluefin/Ublue, audio works right out of the box, thanks to Pipewire (a multimedia framework and server designed to handle audio and video processing on Linux systems). I haven’t once had to fiddle with low level stuff to get things working. But then again, I’m not pushing my hardware or software at all.
Finally, regarding help. There are lots of youtube instructional videos on pretty much whatever you want to do and the level you want to do it at. Also, you can find various communities, for example on reddit, and elsewhere, to tap into people who are more than willing to help a newbie (like me!)
All in all, my experience with audio on linux/ublue/bluefin has been a positive one. Hope this has been a helpful reply.