I don't use the term fodder much, but yes Itachi would have on the account of the Uchiha clan being the very definition of fodder - no name shinobi that are only included in the manga for the purpose of dyeing.
I think so. He had the next level of his eyes and was considered a prodigy of the clan. This is a story about ninjas so it would have been more stealth than before until enough of the stonger ones were taken out to face them head on.