Not acceptable in my world!! No fake plants are, indoors or out. And if you select the flowering plants carefully, they take no more care than routine watering and checking for proper moisture takes only a couple of minutes in the late afternoon or evening.

That is kind of what i thought, although I do use them indoors. I have been seeing so many at Home Goods with the Gardening stuff that I thought maybe it was a "thing" now!

Go to your local nursery (not big box store) and give them your scenario. There are products that can be mixed into the soil which help it to hold onto moisture. This might help your situation. Plus, they can help you to choose some appropriate plants for that microclimate.

Whether fake or real, I wouldn't crowd the door too much with plants on the porch. People should be able to get in or out without bumping them or needing to be too careful.

I think there's nothing wrong with fake plants/flowers so long as they look realistic where people can't tell instantly that they are fake. Today, many good ones pass this test. And a big part of their looking realistic is in the arranging. They cannot just be jammed in a container. The downside to using them is that they don't last forever, and people tend to not change them out soon enough. If they start fading to weird colors, it's time for them to go.

Fake=tacky in my humble opinion.
Having absolutely nothing is better than fake anything.