Import Workflow question

Hey all, had a question about other people's methods for importing footage when dealing with a large number of clips. I normally will do a card archive first of the card then import from there, reason being that the card archive name will be stored as the reel_name in the metadata making it easier to go back and add/adjust metadata and keywords. I wish there was an easier way of adding keywords to clips BEFORE they are imported into an event to store with the archive. While that may be a preference, I am wondering what do other people do when bringing in a large numer of clips (200+).

Do you guys create multiple events, use a file and direcotry based workflow, other methods? I know there quite a few poeple here with different background and areas of expertise, trying to see some personal preferences.