To seek and pause an animation in the Preview, you can currently set the speed to 0%, configure your animations on the tracks, and then set the speed back to 100% to play them. This method, while functional, is admittedly cumbersome. There are plans to improve the Preview view, including adding features like a timeline and more granular control over animation playback, which would make it easier to seek and pause animations at specific points.
Regarding the speed behavior, the current implementation affects all animations on their tracks uniformly. Your suggestion to have individual speed controls for each track is a valuable one and aligns with the ongoing discussions and planned improvements for the Preview view. These enhancements aim to provide more flexibility and control over animation playback, making it easier to test and refine animations within the editor.
For more details on the planned improvements, you can refer to the issue tracker: Preview view improvements.