Will Sketchup Pro (and these other programs) run ok on a MacBook?

no. sorry to say, but i have a macbook and sketchup is pretty SHlT when it comes to sketchup. i also have an imac and it works effortlessly. a macbook pro, however, also works well. it doesn't matter how much ram you have on a macbook, it'll never work well. it always seems to lag but a more simple model may work