So in other words you have already been doing a little solo diving now and then, before having taken the Solo course. Not something I would advise new divers to do.
I don't mean to give you a hard time--you're apparently doing fine, and closing in on 200 dives and diving several times a week you are not really a newbie, despite what you said. Again, the OP really does seem to be a new diver. If I understood the OP, this thread is about whether a pony bottle is a good solution for a new diver to that feeling of insecurity we all felt as new divers. Even if the OP decides to carry a pony, I hope others who find this thread in the future take the full debate into account.