I have an ARMS #18 on an M1A Scout and there is nothing lower. It's a great mount. I have a small Leupold Mk 4 tactical on it, and just use a small cheekpad.
I have a Sadlak that I use with my James River Armory M14 (made from a Bula receiver mated with a Winchester USGI M14 heel) It fits perfectly. Bula is good to go on USGI specs. The Sadlak is probably the strongest mount out there and very easy to remove and replace to zero; which was important because that rifle uses iron sights 96% of the time. But it noticeably puts the scope higher and you want a high cheekpad for it.
For dual-purpose, I would use the Sadlak and an easily removeable cheekpad. You can use detachable rings on the ARMS #18 (mount just stays on the rifle as the irons easily look right over the top of it,) but I don't know if I would trust that return to zero without a few shots each time.