Have you tried Ubuntu 14.04? My sister just installed it on her MBP and she hasn't had any issues except with the track pad, which she was abe to fix (not sure how). Don't install arch unless you're ready to tweak some configuration files.
@: alt + Q
{[]}: alt + 7890
Great nice :)
How did ubuntu fix font issues? That code should be FOSS! Let me see how I can make that run on arch ;)
PS: I use a very minimal arch machine with i3 wm (the most awesome WM ever and I pretty much hate gnome and unity religiously. I think KDE is a bloat) I'll soon have a look at it again, and will post here if something good comes along.