Hi,
The configuration starts off by going into the System Preference settings (>Apple (icon) >System Preference menu) and looking at the available options for the mouse functions.
Nowadays, I work from the trackpad (with no limitations) on a MacBook Pro — the results being so good that I’ve completely abandoned using the mouse altogether. So I can’t remember what the setting options are exactly. But you should have some meaningful choices available.
Apple tried to breed a conventional mouse wheel with a trackpad, and results of course were the Magic Mouse. The intention was to incorporate more gesture based actions on the mouse surface, to ultimately match the trend towards tablet based devices and their heavy use of finger gestures.
While I think modifier keys can still work… Don’t forget to experiment with gestures as well. I think that takes precedence in Apple’s quest for a unified UI experience across multiple devices.