Good questions... you know what to ask.
I have traditionally used two lights, one main light for axial lighting and the other for soft direct lighting. Axial is
good for overall soft lighting, and the second light is helpful for filling out or providing some definition to legends and devices.
My first Lume was the panel mini, which replaced an ailing brick-sized LED panel. The Lume panel mini is 3.7 volts, 1200mAh, 0.5 watts, lithium. It is physically small and light, and boasted digital controls with
fine tuning and the ability to set the light temperature. The rubber diffuser
comes with the mini and works like a charm. I place it atop one of my two Joby GorillaPod Flexible Mini-Tripods topped by the Lume-brand triple cold shoe mount (for multiple lights and microphones). The triple-mount isn't really necessary, but it provides some counterbalance for the panel, which I've tilted at about 80 degrees (that is, nearly horizontal), which could otherwise pull down the lightweight mini-tripod. I usually keep the panel running at just 5% to 20% brightness, but mostly keeping it at 15%. If I were using it for my main lighting source, I would probably step up to their larger panel model.
The cubes came later. I got the two-pack and found a use for the second to banish shadows in the background. The barn doors really
help to direct the light where you want it, and only where you want it. The diffuser is a
bit redundant for axial lighting, but I
still use it.
I like the cube for axial lighting because it is a single source of light. I have found that the panel's
collection of little bulbs complicate the axial lighting, causing unwelcome reflections. It might not be a problem for all axial lighting; it could be because of my second
glass plate, the one that supports the coin. I
had tried a ring light, and that was the ultimate bad
choice, as it reflected directly back into the camera (like shooting a flash into a mirror). Oh, the horror!
I'm not familiar with Apature Amaran. The heavy/fragile lights I was using before were LED Video Lights from LS-Photo Studio.
Cheers~