Yeah, the acoustic guitar is an amazing instrument. Beethoven loved the guitar, and called it a portable orchestra.

I have a degree in Music History, so like you, I like to do my own arrangements. Sure, the first draft is basically just the chords with the tune on top, but I always try to add little ornaments, deedly-dees, walking bass lines up and down, cool little turnarounds, imaginative intros and endings, etc., I usually try to arrange at least one passage that is beyond my ability, and then torture myself for a few months to master it. That’s how I know I’ve improved. I look over all my arrangements, and all the hard passages that I wrote, and then conquered, and I have actual proof of my improvement. That’s satisfying, right there.