Regarding brakes... I don't know if it's good enough for this project but a 3-phase motor will produce a braking torque when shorting all three phases together. Some gate drivers even have an input or way to trigger this function by turning on all low-side FETs or all high-side. The amount of torque depends a lot on the specific motor design and the speed when applied. Not sure if this technique would be good enough for the project.