Variax are actually guitar synths. All the noises of famous guitars are put on microchip.

they are solid bodied. and they don't feed back in noisy places. You can nail your audience in their seats, when you pump up the volume. and you can play open tunings with a press of a switch. You need good monitors for that last trick - cos the strings are still making the out of tune noise - you have to concentrate on the a noise from the amp rather than the guitar. They are made by Line 6, who made the POD sound effects system

I think with an acoustic guitar - there is a trade off when you reduce the size of the body even to have a cutaway. I know Rob Armstrong's work very well - he is quite as wonderful as you suggest, but even he would have to admit small ones don't really have the same sound - although they can have a very nice sound. He made two parlour sized ones for the late George Harrison before he died (obviously), and George was no schmuck.

Yamaha do some higher level APX models which are pretty good - the APX900. I have bought a couple of Faith guitars recently and they both have scrubbed up quite well. They do a couple of small bodied ones - the Mercury parlour size and the Venus electro cutaway.

anyway - best wishes and good luck with whatever it is you decide on.