Mac Migration Assistant to newer Mac and USB Stick backup?

For any backup use Time Machine which will do all the work and can be used to restore your Mac at a later date if needed. Use an external drive (not USB stick). Mechanical drives are inexpensive and will work better than a flash drive. I would make a TM backup of your iMac then set up your Mac Book and use that to restore your settings, files, etc, during initial setup.

Yes, this would work but not exactly as you describe it.

You will want to run Migration Assistant on the MBP. And have the iMac connected to it via a cable. The process will run much faster that way. You could also make a backup of the iMac but I would recommend not doing that while the migration is in process. I would also not recommend using a USB stick as your backup media. They aren't reliable for long term storage.

Hope this helps.

Paul

Using TM will copy all files and settings as before. This is the preferred process with TM drive connected directly to your Mac that you are setting up. I would not recommend doing this process over WiFi.

In fact Wifi is NOT recommended.

You can connect both computers with an ethernet cable.

Transfer your information to Mac from another computer or device - Apple Support

Without knowing what programs you have we can't say. Some programs may require that you put in the license code again, since they key it to a certain computer.

Pitchfork, it should move everything and Keith is correct you may have to put in license codes again.

Paul