I had a guitar port and sold it when I got the PodPro. I also have a Digitech GNX2 which I am rapidly going off.

As far as plugins well I prefer to dial in exactly the sound I want before I record it however I have experimented with re-amping using Cakewalk's ReValver plugins. They are OK.

I am also experimenting with miking my MG15 micro-stack. Even using some fairly serious kit (like a Focusrite Voice Master Pro w/AD board (that's nearly a thousand dollars worth of preamp), an Aliesis Midiverb 4 and a Shure KMS44 large diaphragm condenser) it is not as nice sounding as the Pod shooting direct out of the S/P DIF. This is mainly because i) the room acoustics are horrible and ii) I cant turn the amp above 3 because of neighbors (which make using a dynamic mic like an SM57/58 out of the question).

For my money the pod is the best option and dead easy to use.