Coconuts tend to appear when he crops do, which kind of make them redundant.

not completely

the berries in vv1 worked much the same way, and there were times when those berries were necessary

When my villagers are weakened, I definitely have them eat a lot. I also put them up in the far right corner since that often makes them walk around "thinking" or "contemplating" (I can't remember exactly what it says they are doing, but something that isn't hard). Or I put them into the pool because quite often after they swim for awhile they will sit on the side resting.

Also, as bad as I want tech points (I have never tt, didn't even know what it was when I first started reading these forums), I have learned to allow them to rest, no matter what their job is. If I feel one of them has been working too hard, I will purposely pull them away, hopefully to an area that might catch their attention for awhile. Just to give them a break.