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Sharpening vs honing on the steel is just semantics, from a practical perspective it's the same thing. The sharpened edge developes little fingers as it wears. The steel can align (straighten) these fingers without removing little if any material. Call it whatever you want, a knife that's less sharp becomes more sharp.
I'm no expert, but I have a lot of nice cutlery and like to keep it up. I've got carbon steel knives (including a vintage Sabatier Jeune beauty) but rarely use them as the overall performance isn't really that much better. They do sharpen easier, but require more TLC than I'm willing to give day to day.
As a note, many expensive kitchen knives come somewhat dull out of the box and may require sharpening before they are at full potential.
I think the most important aspect of sharpening is to choose your method then stick with it. If it's a Chef's Choice electric, then take the blade down to the angle of the machine (if different) and don't change it. If it's a manual system, either match the original angle (better) or grind to whatever you're comfortable with.
A properly sharpened knife should only require infrequent touch up with the sharpener unless it's abused. Steel it every use or as necessary.
As indicated above, the worst case is to sharpen at the wrong angle without establishing a new edge. The effect will be more round and impossible to hone with a steel.
I would think grinding on one side would give a sharper but more delicate blade, like on an asian knife. I wouldn't do it though unless you really understood what and why you were doing it.
my two cents...
-spence
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