Mining is probably the safest of the 3 activities, though you need the skills. Combat is definitely doable if you have a battleship. There are some good Praxis fits that are alpha friendly. I'd probably go with Rapid Heavy Missile Launchers (which are good against all targets) or pulse lasers (hard to hit frigates, so you'll rely more on drones for those, but you can take advantage of all the boosters they give you). I think my Praxis fit actually tanked better than my Typhoon, even though the Typhoon looked better on paper.