I'm probably not the best person to answer this, but I'm here so I'll give it a shot. As for miking the acoustic, that usually works fine, and some people even like it better. Today me and another guitarist were playing with just a mic in front of the acoustic, and it sounded great. The problems in sound you had probably have something to do with your mixing board or amp settings. Try tinkering. As for pickups, you can get one installed into the side for a small fee (not including the cost of the pickup), and then there are other kinds, for instance one that you just clip onto the soundhole for your performance and then take off after. As for which is better, I think it's mostly personal preference. Do some research on it though.