I seem to remember seeing a small amount of grease on these parts when I’ve removed them, with loads of dust etc stuck on
maybe they should be cleaned and re greased every couple of years to give an even better life
You need to send the V5 of once you have taxed it you can also fill out a form for mot exemption but I don’t think you can actually get an mot once you have applied, personally I would mot the car every year!
1 you know it’s safe (not that I wouldn’t be)
2 if you ever sell it there are decent records of mots which looks better for the history file
you also send the V5 to a different department so the likelihood of it being held is minimal (I spoke to the dvla last week regarding this)