This is just weird. You can't be saying that it's "easily and inexpensively equipped" when the sentence before you're saying it's hard for optics and weapons lights. A good optic costs as much as the M&P. Your little shopping list there is about $300 of parts on top of a $450 gun. That's a lot of money. Your accessories alone are double what I paid for my setup.
Know what's easier and more inexpensive? Not having to buy anything extra or having to move a damn thing off the upper you already have.
What's closer to the real deal than a replica? The real deal. C'mon.