For riding in the snow, I would skip suspension. Extra weight, money, and maintenance that are not doing you much good.

A dropper makes sense year-round IMO, even in the snow.

For primarily snow riding, I would look for a bike that takes 4.8” tires with some clearance. Look for a frame that has 197mm rear wheel spacing (the majority have this these days). While frames with 177mm spacing can sometimes accommodate wide tires (my Surly Wednesday with 177 will take 4.6s), you can run into drivetrain clearance issues.

I would make sure the stock rims are tubeless compatible.

Put aside a decent budget (like $250) for tires, unless you feel pretty confident that the stock tires are really good keepers. Tires are the single biggest factor in how a Fat Bike performs in most adverse conditions (such as snow). And good fat tires are not cheap.

In my case, my fat bike is primarily for the late fall through early spring in Upstate NY. So snow is only part of what it handles, and it is often packed. And sometimes there is not much snow to start with. The rest is deep leaves and mud. I get away OK with aggressive (but non-studded) 4.0” tires OK in the snow, but if there was more of it (like where you are going) I’d want bigger tires, and frame that clears them.

In terms of budget priorities, I would not put too much focus on the weight of the stock bike. The most meaningful gains (or losses, in this case) are going to come from tire selection and going tubeless.