think I'm coming to the conclusion that light hoods suck...

...at least in my setup it's much brighter sans hood. I cn see now why some guys prefer bare-assed bulbs. They seem to run cooler too.
idk..

You're correct. A lot of the "big" grow rooms use multiple vertical bare bulbs lowered to about 1/3 down the side of the plant. In larger grow rooms this can make a big difference because you can hit a plant with multiple bulbs. The idea is by broad siding the plant you get large buds all up and down the whole plant rather than just the top 1/2 of the plant like you get with horizontal methods. Vertical setups can maximize your yields, but finding adequate cooling for the room can be tough to get dialed in. I've seen different setups where people use metal fencing to protect the leaves from touching the bulb and all kinds of stuff.

sounds like a pain in the ass to me

I'm not impressed with the hood on my 150W HPS; it doesn't allow for airflow directly over the bulb