The path above Piers Gill is a really good route up, should be quiet, too. There is one short scrambly bit, but this is very easy.
Piers Gill itself is a trap for the unwary in descent.
Edit - and no, you don't miss any of the fun if you branch off for Lingmell rather than plod up the tourist track to Scafell Pike, the place where you would diverge is after the top of Piers Gill.