I play a Les Paul Custom, and its for punk rock mainly. The mules are good but can be somewhat prone to feedbacking when the gains up a bit
I never have that problem with Mules, but the VHII will do that style.
me neither... they could be unpotted mules, though
regarding output, depends if he wants more compression or just raw power
the vhII certainly delivers a louder and punchier sound, but if he wants more compression, perhaps an abraxas might work
the black dog is pretty different from the mule, but sounds great too