>>hyzyla+(OP)
For use case 1 (job queue) I can only recommend beanstalkd[1]. Simple tcp plain text protocol. Install and forget. Plus you get some really useful features like deferred jobs, burying, kicking, job priorities, etc.
We have literally processed tens of billions of jobs without a single failure.
Old and simple technology that just works
[1] https://beanstalkd.github.io/