Dhenry... please stop...
When someone says:
First off I'm new to the electronics side of the house.
Right away your answers numbered 1,3 and 4 are just completely unfair to someone that probably does not even know about Ohms law.
Answer #1 should be stricken entirely. A newcomer would BARELY know when these conditions apply and you are leading them down a path to get it wrong before even knowing why. (damaging their LED, Arduino or both)
Answer #2 should read "For standard leds, you use a proper value current limiting resistor." (period!) There is nothing inefficient about it.
Answers #3 and #4... really? Once again... they said "New to electronics"
Telling a newcomer to Google for LED RESISTOR CALCULATOR is far better advice than you are giving.