people on https://forum.novelupdates.com/forums/translators-corner.1026/ are more helpful than any software
Give it time. It's definately not for everyone and certain things details will be missed, but I find once you get used to it enough that it will be a similar exprience to normal TL when you are in the zone. Also, if you use LNMTL, go for books that have been on the site longer and are more popular because they would have more terms suggested. The last advice that comes to mind is that if you are reading an mtl, if possible, even if there are only 20 chapters out, read the tl first to get a better sense for the terms and the world. This might be a bit counterproductive though if the mtl uses different terms for book concepts like cultivation levels, at least for the start.
I don't read MTL because I really can't, the cancer is too strong BUT I have seen people asking the same as you so I'll give the answer I saw: Google translate work well (relatively, but most of "mtl-translator" use that (or they buy a program, but that in the case of the one who edit before posting)). Some guys (I actually saw it only once) like to use 2 online translators and read it two time like this they have less chance to read an absolutely wrong TL. Anyway good luck !
I guess it's more about preference. If you are fine with getting a gist of the story and if your not put off with bad English grammar. I assume google translate is fine. The thing depends on what languages you are translating from. Google seems fairly decent if its either Chinese to English or Japanese to English. The only thing though is you will tend to lose deeper meanings in the story, like idioms, or native puns and stuff.
If it's a Chinese novel I recommend reading it on LNMTL or ComradeMao if it's on either of those sites. I personally like reading on LNMTL and I make terms as I go along to improve the readability of the novel in the future Example of a term would be like: 云澈 -> Yun Che Then every time 云澈 appears in the raw text it will be translated as “Yun Che” 100% of the time regardless of what the translation software might have translated it as otherwise so it helps with translation consistency a lot
If you plan to read on MTL then it would be better to do so with a new novel. Sometimes continuing with a TL novel can be tough since names, and places night not remain the same.
I would actually say the opposite, because it's hard to get into reading MTL at first I found it a lot easier continuing a novel I was already reading from where the translation was at because I was into the novel enough to give me motivation to soldier through MTL to read it. Nowadays I start new novels with MTL but that's only after I was used to it for a while.