am new to this whole cat thing as you know.
Sounds like you got a good grip on what to do already Unfortunatly there really isn't a lot you can do to reduce shedding aside from brushing a lot and giving some laxative to help curb hairballs, but I would think the stuff from Drs. Foster & Smith would be fine. I get a lot of stuff from their catalogs as well (Stain Away....works wonders!!! Smells like cinnamon!)
As for a shiny coat, vit E would probably be ok, but I've also seen that a little bit of cod liver oil in the food helps too
Let us know what you decide and what the results are