Yorick's ghouls last only a short period of time for two reasons. In the case of a Revenant of a champion, it is because Yorick's powers are limited, and he is unable to maintain the duplicate indefinitely without draining his own lifeforce. When the champion dies, the Revenant's refreshed duration is then dependant on the little remaining lifeforce he was able to extract from their corpse before they died. In the case of his omens of Famine, War and Pestilence, their limited duration is owed to the fact they are entirely artificial magical constructs formed in the guise of corpses, which Yorick has mastered the art of generating. Due to the muscle memory he has dedicated to shaping them just so, he is unable to deviate from the designs and thus their duration without the influx of magical energy a patch can bring.
Why are Caitlyn's shots able to pass through enemy units until she takes the time to drop to a crouch and aim them?