I am not a metal backplate fan for side mount, but the nice thing about side mount is that what works for you works for you and it does not much matter what others might think.
With that said, as your side mount diving evolves (lower, tighter, etc) what used to work for you may no longer work well at all, so in that regard developing a configuration that will work well in all the environments you anticipate diving in is worthwhile.
I dive a Nomad XT - one that's evolved through two wings, three bungee configurations and a couple weight configurations to reach a sweet spot for the diving I do.
I need enough wing to float cave filled 95's, 1-2 stages and a deco bottle on some of our dives - which almost by definition are not "side mount required" dives, at least initially. The downside is that this much wing involves more bulk that is optimum for really tight side mount diving - and that's ok as removing tanks, no mounting, etc is not something I do. If I end up doing that, a Steve, B. style harness is probably what I'd use.
I also generally prefer to dive wet in FL and in MX, due to the comparatively warm water. Same with offshore diving in FL. For that purpose I have no weight on the harness at all. The only weights I might use are 2 pound weights on cam bands when using AL 80s, for both trim and adequate weight at the end of the dive in anticipation of the exceedingly rare and never happened yet emergency where I may breathe all the tanks near empty.
Up north in Labrador current diving or in the Great Lakes a dry suit becomes necessary. In that case, 16 to 20 pounds (depending on underwear used) in a weight plate on the Nomad works fine.
Some divers add weight to the shoulder areas of their rigs for trim purposes. You can thread them in the webbing (a real PITA on some rigs) attach them with a pair of large zip ties, use small weight pockets threaded into the webbing (also a real PITA but once done it's easy to add/remove weights) or, if you can find them, use old school weights with the cut in the middle to allow them to be added to the middle of a strap.
I am no longer a ring bungee fan. It worked well for hard mounting the tanks for walking the tanks to the sink, boat entries and exits, etc, but the tanks rode too low and the trim was never quite right.
I now use this:
Old School Kit
It allows the same hard connection as a ring bungee but using either a stage style tank kit or a bolt snap attached with the neck with paracord and does not require a choker. It then has a bungee that comes around the valve in normal side mount fashion. It gives you the best of both worlds.