Here's my two cents worth....but I guess with the price of batiks it should be a lot more????
I don't ever prewash anything. Call me lazy but I've never learned the hard way, so I don't bother to prewash.
Nobody told me to use a different needle so I don't. My usual all-purpose needle works fine. In fact, I just finished a batik quilt top with a needle that I've used weekly, if not daily, for well over a year and it was just fine. (I am self-taught and never think to change a needle unless it breaks!)
I don't put batiks on the back (usually hand-dye a matching tie-dye or something else interesting with multiple colors) so I don't have to machine quilt through multiple layers of batiks and it works out fine. I don't applique or hand quilt them so I can't comment on those....
In short, I just treat them like any other high-quality fabric from my LQS and I've never had a problem. I know that others have given different opinions so you'll just have to experiment! :)