Regarding surfaces, I dislike acrylic primers since they have rough solids in them to make them porous, but that surface will destroy soft brushes. I prefer sized papers instead, or traditional gesso or oil primed panels.
If I paint on stretched canvas, which is rare, I'll use an oil primer. An alternative to preparing an acrylic primed surface would be to add a thin coat or two of oil primer (or alkyd) to it so it won't be so rough on the brush. Of course, these oil primers aren't water-soluble, but you can buy them pre-primed.
When sizing paper, I prefer using shellac since there's no water involved that would require stretching the paper first. It's also ready to paint on within a few hours. Since it's already white it doesn't require priming. You could also use rabbit skin glue or a PVA size such as Golden's GAC 100 but you'd have to stretch the paper properly first so the paper won't buckle. Shellac would be a couple coats of a 2-pound cut, RSG or GAC 100 would require at least 3-4 coats.
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