For lighting, I use waterbottle battery to power a front dynamo style lamp. Modern dynamo lamps are very efficient and effective and make full use of their 3watt power, compared to generic sealed-beam units.
I have used a couple of dynamo systems. I found the old clamp-on bottle dynamo to be POS. They screw up the frame and never have enough traction on the tyre.
My touring bike has a braze-on tab for a modern high efficiency bottle dynamo with a rubber roller. It is a whole different story; efficient, reliable power available whenever I need it. Usually this is for short trips into town at night rather than long endurance rides. For an urban bike a good dynamo is ideal as a fit-and-forget system, no need to remove all the lighting bits every time you lockup. For longer distance regular commutes, a battery is probably a better option.