It is very much a "Make your own fun" kind of game though. I think there needs to be a bit more development done to make it feel like a more rounded experience, but the core game is incredibly strong.

Did you end up getting a proper joystick set-up DB, or are you using the 360 controller?

Gotta be better than the Sidewinder!
I think I tried the Adder briefly during Beta.
From what I understand after full release, they make a nice step up from the Sidewinder for trading and exploration.
I just know my Cobra tends to chew them up and spit them out.

Looking at the stats, you get one medium hardpoint and two small ones, as well as two utility hardpoints.

I'd suggest splitting those hardpoints into two buttons in the same firegroup, with either a medium pulse laser and two small multicannons, or a medium multicannon and 2 small pulse lasers. Gimballed if you can afford it.
Use lasers on their own to strip shields and then use both to attack the hull once shields are down.

The only limiting factor there may be how the hardpoints are positioned, and I can't comment there as I've not flown one seriously.

The upside of ships and gear in Elite is that they retain 100% resale value, so you're not losing money while using the Adder as a stepping stone to something better.

For your utility mounts, well I wouldn't be without a chaff launcher now, as chaff scrambles the auto-aim of gimballed and guided weapons.

The second one? That's dependent on role.
I have a Kill Warrant Scanner in mine. That allows you to scan ships for bounties across multiple jurisdictions, and is the Bounty Hunter's bread-and-butter.
A ship that says Wanted may have a basic Federation bounty of 19,000 credits on it. But the Kill Warrant Scanner may reveal that the same ship is also wanted in the Alliance and the Empire, potentially tripling the reward.

If you're more concerned about survivability, the Point Defense is a small turret that takes out incoming missiles and torpedoes.

The Frame Shift Wake Scanner's for piracy really, and the Heat Sink Launcher is for stealth, which to be honest is not really necessary. Stealth is mostly for avoiding System Authority vessel scans so you don't end up with fines for illicit cargo, but these are easily evaded with decent piloting skills. Even if a scan starts while you're docking, if it doesn't complete before you're through the letter -box it fails as you've broken line-of-sight.

Sorry, bit of an info-dump there, but from playing myself I know that any info you can get is valuable.
This game doesn't tell you much!

You should try this thing called 'sex'.