Work backward from your end goal and make it happen. Shoot for 2-3 colas per sq ft. you'll have to do the conversion to metric :P
any "technique" that invovles stripping away a ton of leaves and such typically take longer due to over-stripping leaves. Be patient to remove leaves. have a good reason. You can remove an axillary bud and let the accompanying leaf remain.
you have several tools. use any combination. Breaking apical dominance can be done in several different ways. Sometimes, it's better to use one than the other, but for the most part they are equivalents. The plant will grow at the rate it's genes allow and assuming you don't step on your toes. Our contribution is more about not screwing up and 90% is just the plant doing it's own thing - no matter what the marketing people say.
keep it level.. slow the shoots down that are outpacing other stuff temporarily until the other stuff catches up.. rinse and repeat. bend it, tie it, cut it.. whatever is best for the context.
LST, topping.. all good. using a scrog is nice for larger plants. sea of green will reduce vege time, but then you need a ton of smallplants that come with their own added efforts to maintain. No matter what you'll need the same amount of light per area and similar amount of effort/maintenance no matter what you choose to do.
you'll eventually run into some floppy plant at some point, the screens/trellises are good to use just for that reason alone... trying to tie up a bunch of limbs with wire or string is a giant pain in the ass.