I would guess that the noise or static may be coming from your POD, your guitar pickups, or a loose or defective guitar cable. Try shifting the position of your guitar while recording to see if the static varies. Next, try a couple of different guitar cables. You could also vary the POD amp models to see if that has any effect. Some of the presets are noisier than others.
The "stuttering" you describe sounds like it could be a computer issue. What type of system are you using, including available RAM, processor speed, hard drive size, etc.? Do you have other applications running in the background while you are recording? Have you ever defragmented your drive? Do you have some type of disk utility to check the condition of your system?
The "darkness" issue is probably just a question of adjusting tone controls on the POD (Bass, Mid, Treble, reverb, etc.) or your guitar. It could also be as simple as your playing style or the setup you use for monitoring.
It's hard to tell if something like the Audiophile will offer better quality. It comes down to comparing both units side-by-side and making a subjective judgement about the A/D converters. The Audiophile will certainly sound different (perhaps cleaner) given the fact that the POD is primarily an effects box/amp modeling system. The Audiophile and other interfaces will also generally give you more flexibility since they typically offer XLR mic inputs and phantom power. The POD, if I remember correctly, simply uses a single 1/4 input.