Quote - Option 2 I tried but the Y wont translate with the dials or the control circle.

That's very strange. There is no reason that applying a walk cycle should impede the translations of the BODY actor! Check the limits on the BODY's yTran. They should be at least min -100000, to max 100000.

Quote - Option 3 is a winner, works like a charm. Is there a downside?

If you reapply the walk cycle, or apply a second walk cycle, the figure will drop to the floor again. For those circumstances you need to zero the altitude of the prop before applying the cycle. Other than that, I can't think of a downside.