I've played many eroge over the years using ATLAS; I don't even notice the bad translation these days. ATLAS translation aren't perfect, but it allows you to play a wide range of eroge, many which will never be translated.
I wrote up a guide for using ATLAS. It also has examples of translations. It can be found here:
An Aero-Gamer’s Guide to Using ATLAS | Amaenbou Dane~
In the end, learning Japanese is hands down the best method to play eroge. However, that will takes years. My recommendation is to play eroge using ATLAS, and learn Japanese at the same time.