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If you get the right hub motors, they should be able to operate at any speed. It's just a matter of getting the right windings and voltage. Hub motors add a lot of unspring weight to the wheels, but as you say, you get AWD which has advantages. You can creep around with your engine in neutral or off, and still drop the engine into neutral and regen brake to a stop with the hub motors, saving your brake pads and filling up the hybrid battery.
Even without an altermotor, you can still delete your alternator if you use hub motors. Here's how it works:
Normally, when your 12v system is loaded, your alternator applies some drag to your engine (eats a little gas mileage) to top the 12v battery up, at around 60% efficiency. With a hub motor hybrid, when the 12v gets a little low, a DC-DC converter can just pull a little bit out of the big hybrid battery, which is either filled at home or from regenerative braking. That's an instant +5-15% fuel economy from deleting the alternator.
You'll still need to keep your starter, unless you want to use the hub motors to bump start your engine sometimes, but it would be nice having both options. My car does - I can start it with either the 12v starter or the big hybrid motor.
EDIT: And you're right, if you're rebuilding the engine, it's still beneficial to get a cam which has better low-RPM characteristics.
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