Breathing Q

I'm not a competitive swimmer and don't expect/hope to ever be one. But do like the pool for exercise--less trouble for my knees. However one thing that I've been been able to do is to get a handle on the whole stroke/breathe timing. Every time I go to take a breath, I get a mouth full of water and end up stopping. I can breath fine with the back stroke and butterfly but not at all in any face down stroke. Also a secondary Q: I always seem to end up going crooked--regardless of what stroke it is. I either hit the wall or the lane ropes (markers). I was in the pool today (three lanes in this pool--all taken) and when a fourth person showed up, I found myself HOPING that he wouldn't want to join my lane. Because I know that I don't swim straight and it makes it difficult to share a lane. Thankfully, he asked the guy in the next lane. Can anyone offer any suggestions? Thanks!