Two to four thousand below OPT ALT as a technique? IMO overkill.
Agree, indeed with both your posts. Clearly the words of experience.
As far as bank angle, it's been a few years since I last flew Boeing, but in my opinion selecting a reduced bank angle at the same time as HDG mode is selected is probably not a bad habit to get into. I try to couple actions so they're automatic (KISS for dumb-arses such as me) when things get busy. If you're up near max you'll need the reduced bank angle anyway, if down lower you can always increase the bank angle if something pops up at the last minute, or (especially during the day) you can see you won't make the turn before running into something behind the buildup.