I've flown the 747 Classic, 744, and 748. You can land the 747 (any model) in a crab. With a significant crosswind, it is almost mandatory. you cannot use more than 5 deg angle of bank, and you MUST have your velocity vector straight down the runway. Some pilots like to try to "kick out" the crab at the last moment, but just as often that will result in an overcorrection. On a wet runway, you'll hardly notice the airplane aligning itself with the runway; on a dry runway there will be significant shudder through the airframe as the tires scrub during the alignment.
I don't know what the difference is between 748 brakes and 744 brakes, other than capacity. Both have carbon brakes. I treated them the same. With the 748, always use Flaps 20 for T/O and Flaps 30 for landing, unless the airplane is VERY light (270T landing).