You can definitely use an lmhost file. Be careful. That info gets loaded into RAM automatically. Also, Windows parses the lmhost list from top to bottom. Items listed on the bottom take longer to access. It is much easier to manage usinh WINS. DHCP is definitely not necessary.

Also, You can take an old p133, put linux on it for FREE, and make a SAMBA server. Same as a WINS server.