I will quote my Dad here: "Don't get so into the theory that you burn yourself out". What he meant was, theory is nice, but music is supposed to be a joy, and you are supposed to be having some fun with it.

That said, what you learn here will help immensely. For myself, I try to find some balance between the lessons and theory, using what I've learned in practice, and learning new songs on my own.

I don't believe there is a Perfect Way. If there was, somebody would have copy-written it by now. :)

Make sure you are having fun, but also realize that to get really good takes some work. So far I find the lessons in a good order and a good pace to bring you from the bottom up, so to speak.

Regarding Tabs, whichever method is getting you some happiness is fine in my opinion. In my early days I learned to play almost entirely from those thick music books with the chord grids in them above the words.

Good luck!!