Question 1 - You don't see much state appellate in biglaw. You typically see USDC, USCOA, and sometimes state court of last resort. State appellate is less prestigious. There are outliers, of course. You also may see a more positive reaction in the amlaw200, or even upper amlaw100 (firms that are "big" law, not necessarily "biglaw").

Question 2 - This is a hypothetical that cannot be answered very well without more information. It depends what your other options are. If you work at a niche boutique with reputable lawyers, then after 2-3 years you may have some good lateral options. If your only options are to do a state appellate clerkship or work at some dipshit law firm no one has ever heard about and no one will ever care about, then clerkship might be a safer choice.

Go through website bios, find people who went to your law school, and figure out how they got there.