podman-compose (like docker-compose) is required - there is not a way to workaround that requirement.
I install as 'root' - usually makes things simpler - but any user with appropriate permissions to interact with Podman will do the trick - sudo user is just fine.
As far as starting at boot - you should be able to create a simple service that runs the podman-compose command. Since podman starts on boot - it usually restarts whatever was running when it was shut down, so no service may be required.