I think you have considered mostly all the methods. I verified myself using a VCC and then later added my bank account. I think its a vise decission to add an bank account cos what i noticed lately is that people using VCC to verify their accounts have their accounts limited eventually after the VCC expires.
Yes. I also already did the same thing like you. Thats the best and i believe many people will do something about that. If some of you want to keep safe, just use debit card or credit card when you want to verify. Thats the best way for you guys.
I only tried before adding my credit card to my paypal account for the verification process. Never tried other method before because I'm a non-US citizen and the only option available for my country is adding a credit card for the withdrawal. I've seen some people trying to get a US bank account to verify their paypal, however it's quite a long process