First question I don't know as I don't have any need for transparency features. Wrt Vmware tools, SuSE being RPM-based, this usually (I use VMWare Server) involves VMWare loading a .iso file inside the VM guest, the VM guest (auto-)mounting it and making the package manager install the package. That being the case you could 0) make Fusion load the .iso, or extract and copy the package over, and upgrade it or 1) use your package to search for the installed vmware-tools package and uninstall it before installing the new one.
|