Yes PCI E is fully backwards compatible. It'd even work in PCI E 1.0 as long as it was getting enough power (PCIE 1.0 doesn't use 8pin connectors I think)
Yes - PCIe 2.1 is just PCIe 2.0 with an upgrade in transfer speeds.
Not that much difference between the two, not much of a bottleneck should be formed.
Nothing noticeable atleast.