Steven Eleven sums it up pretty well. I went to Chaweng several times, but had BG with me, so I wasn't looking for that. We did drink and shoot pool in the ladybars there though. I saw a couple gogos, must have got the names mixed up, hard to remember.
Lamai is really nice place to, as Wylos put it, chill out, lie in the hammock, go swimming, play cards, read a book, etc., just relax. It is small and quiet compared to Patong or Chaweng.
There a heck of a lot of ladybars in Lamai, at least 6 dozen, I would guess. But it is like if you took all the girls from all the bars in Patong, divided them into two group based on looks, then took the the group that was not as good looking, and put them all in one small town, that is Lamai. There are a few of the better looking ones, but so few that someone else usually has already hooked up with them. Even so, it is not hard to find a cute one. They are not all ugly.
In Chaweng, I did go to the bars with my Lamai BG, who was a sweetheart, incidentally, and pretty, even if not impressive. So I did scope out the BGs there. They were a lot better than Lamai, not as good as Patong. That was my impression. In Patong there are a really lot of pretty girls, as well as lot of dogs, too.
Some guys go to Phuket, then when they are partied out, and have hooked up with a BG they really like, take her to Ko Samui to mellow out.
You can't beat the food in Patong, or the prices. Best in LOS. But it was really good in Ko Samui, too. In Lamai, maybe cost a little more, but very small difference. I was getting great steak dinners for 160 Baht. No free dessert, though. Also, Chaang was 50 Baht at the ladybars, which is cheaper than Patong. When I ate in Chaweng, it was more expensive.
I wouldn't worry about going alone. You might like Lamai. Very lowkey and friendly place. And the girls I went with were real happy with 1000 Baht long time. They never quoted any price to me, just say, "How much you pay?" Never any discussion of long time or short time. They all wanted to go 24/7. That was very refreshing change from Patong. Other years in Patong was usually 1000 OK or they don't ask for money but OK when you give them 1000 the next morning.
This year every single one of them I was with asked for more, and whined or said buy me phone card 350 Baht or give me tip, etc. When I would say 1000 Baht, they would say OK short time, but want more for long time. Some times they would give me a headache with all the negotiating.