Trying to get to all the questions...
The laser is
this model I got on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00SBXH84E/
It's very bright, two or three times brighter than the bore sight laser or the Barska, maybe more. No sunlight today so I can't say positively that it's bright enough to see in the direct sunlight, but I'm at 99% that it is.
The bore-sighter is a Sight-Mark. I tried it in my coach gun and while holding the gun as still as I could and there was no discernible movement of the dot due to the my spinning it in the bore. I did this from a distance of about 20 feet.
Hip shooting is only one option when you aren't going to look down the sights, or if you're not able to look down the sights. Shooting across the passenger seat in the case of a car-jack attempt is one example. A right-handed person shooting around a left barricade is another. Under a car maybe. It isn't binary; I haven't taken the bead off so down the sights is still an option, the laser is just added versatility.
I still need to noodle at what distance I want it to be sighted.
EDIT to add: The sun came out! I took the laser outside and from 20' I could find the dot on the shed well enough. Beyond that it got harder. Pointing the laser on a shady spot while the full sun was out made the dot very easy to see. For training outside that's probably good enough.