Displacement DOES work in Superfly, just that you have to subdivide the model at LEAST three times, which will totally bog down the system. 

Normal maps would be great too, but you'd still need to create an equivalent black and white "mask" to mask out areas where color and roughness should not appear. 

AND ... if I remember correctly, material layers SHOULD work in Poser 11 and up, which makes it a better choice than python.

By default when you create a new material layer the PoserSurface node is in there. I prefer the Physical Surface node. Just add it and set it to SuperFly root and the PoserSurface will be ignored.

Consider layers also for makeup (eyeliners, lips, etc), tattoos, sweat, dirt, etc etc etc. Same principle, different little tricks. The advantage is you can use them on the same base character.

OH .. one thing.  Layers STACK with each other. So if you want to replace a layer you have to delete it first, and then add the "new" layer you want to replace it with.