Yes you can access Windows shares directly and play the media from there with no issues. I do it all the time.
I have all that functionality today with FF… Not sure when you last checked, but if you create a Mozilla account and log in to FF you can sync all the same stuff as Chrome does.
+1 Put it in a USB3 device and you’ve got a smoking fast boot setup for as many OSs as you can shake a stick at. Great tool.
Bingo
Obligatory Princess Bride