Yes, I did misread your FET type. Unfortunately, the IRL540 isn't the best choice because of it's rather high Rdson of .077 Ohm. Now I see the why of your drive voltage requirement since it's a logic level device and Vgs = +/-10V max.
Do NOT use the complementary emitter follower circuit described by Nando even if you do have 12V available. You'll certainly pop the FETs. It could be used if you have a 6V supply available but I thought you wanted to run it from the 24V battery.
Nando was correct that the resistor divider I suggested will draw a fair amount of current but I don't consider it an issue since you are dumping anyway and they do offer a low source impedance.
For the IRL540 I would change the 33 Ohm resistor to 22 Ohms. Also the zener should be changed to 7-8V.
I suggest you treat the C35 and the Pic as two separate problems. A different solution is best for each.
I assume you would be using a 5V supply for the Pic. In that case, you could use the following circuit and change the supply shown to 5V.