My FD is controlled through that Kelly Take-Off you can see in the pic above. I'm probably not better than most would think but hopefully not as bad as they'd expect either.
My biggest bugaboo is slow speed 180 degree turns (U-turns). It's a mental hang-up and I have a hard time doing them w/o unclipping. I practice on a cruiser I ride with my kids but still "whig out" when I'm on my road bike.
I don't want to hijack this thread so back to the OP: I think right side/front brake makes sense. Sheldon Brown explained this in detail and I'll only paraphrase. The front does most and at higher speeds nearly all the stopping so, assuming a right handed rider, it makes sense to put that brake into the dominant hand.
