100% agreed re: Robertson screws and screwdrivers. When I first went to Canada I cursed them, not having the tools to deal with them, a quick visit to Canadian Tire and I was a convert. Love the picture, but those pants could be dangerous if you dropped the ballast itself
On tips to reduce the likelyhood of dropping screws, the gum tip
does work really well, but gets a little fiddly after the 45th screw.
I have had a lot of success for certain sizes of screw only, using a piece of soft rubber hose over the screwdriver, flexible enough to stick the screwhead into, but easy enough to pull off
Soft sheathing from some types of cords might also work.