Ahh modifier stacks, something as an ex-max user turned Maya user it's something I really miss and forget for this kind of thing. I really wish adsk would hurry up and give Maya some proper non-destructive workflows! For OP's case, I'd go with your solution out of these two :)
True, which ever technique you use to achieve the intended effect is valid, though there are pros and cons to most of them. While you've put a lot of thought into this, those thoughts and experiences never get transferred to newcomers when you tell them how to overcome all of their obstacles by simply adding geo. That may…