InfoPath Dev

Currently, I have the following setup:

1) I publish the xsn to a sharepoint form library.
2) I copy the xsn from the SharePoint form library to a folder on the server called \\Server\InfoPathForms
3) I have an application (Let's call it AppX) that takes a copy of the xsn from the server and uploads the xsn to the person's local machine when AppX.exe is activated. AppX is designed to overwrite the local machine copy if the server copy is newer.
4) From there, the person opens existing or creates new forms from their local machine.

Question #1:
I would like to remove remove sharepoint from the process.

I did some research via this site and google. From what I understand, publishing adds a location for the form to reference and allows it to store a cache copy of the template for existing xml forms.

Since the xsn is stored locally and the user references this local xsn, is it required to publish the form to the sharepoint form library required? Could I do the following instead?
1) Save xsn to the server.
2) Same as step #3 above.
3) Same as step #4 above.

Question #2:
If publishing is required, I imagine I can use a web server instead of sharepoint via the publishing wizard. Is an alternative to just publish to the server folder \\Server\InfoPathForms directly? Which is recommended?

Thanks!

I should mention that the form is signed and fully trusted.

The following statement from the "Sending a form in an e-mail message" section, adds to the belief I do not need to publish. Given, this is for emails but the same principle applies. 

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/infopath/HP010967231033.aspx

"If you prefer to send the form without publishing it to a shared location, you can digitally sign the form and mark it as fully trusted. This enables form features to work correctly and allows you to send updated versions of the form to others by using an e-mail program."

Basically it states fully trusted forms do not require publishing. Let me know if this statement is correct.

 Thanks,