Regarding whether lugs are easier, I'd say YES. Learn to pin your joints, because that assists with alignment, and assuring the tubes fit tightly together inside the lug. The miters should be just as tight as if TIG'ing the joint, only the lug encapsulates the joint.

When heating the joint, do it all the way around before adding filler. Assuming 56% silver, target a dull red. Use gravity to feed the filler, to the extent possible. Position your shoreline up, and pull filler into the joint using heat and gravity. With some joints, you can watch the penetration, the bottom bracket for example. Work all sides of the joint, not just one side. Or at least, start on one side, then jump to the other. Being somewhat of a novice, I tend to add too much filler, which results in some remaining on the shoreline. That's sort of a gauge of sorts. For dropouts, I recommend external socketed type, sort of like a lug. These are much simpler to fill than an internal plugged in blade-type drop out, which commonly uses brass, and requires more skill. Again, feed the silver until the joint until you see it pooling up on the shoreline, despite your best attempt to pull it inside. You can always file/scrape off any excess. That's a better option than underfilling.