Of course, anyone else with VDNI would be able to do so as well. I don't know about DNI, but since buffered VDNI eliminates the feedback from internal damage I would say that it cannot be used with protomechs.
DNI doesn't have feedback buffers. Instead, a drug called XA-3, developed by Dr. Diana Hunsaker, was implemented by Kale's team to counter the sensory overload and dangerous feedback. Without the drug, the pilot takes damage
every time the 'Mech is hit, even if the strike doesn't penetrate the armor.
Truth be told, with the level of miniaturization required for such small machines, I don't see the Inner Sphere developing Protomechs without the dangerous DNI system, at worst. Or at best, the Blakist VDNI is adapted for Protomech use. A conventional cockpit/gyro control system would, in all likelyhood, restrict IS Protos to the 10-15 ton range. And then you would have Ultralight Battlemechs, not Protomechs.
Anything lighter, you would need an exotic control system on par, or better than, Enhanced Imaging. And the Inner Sphere has those available. The only advanced control system I could see that would be excluded from Protomechs would be the Virtual Reality Piloting Pod (VRPP).