For 3-way's we only strip the common at the rough-in stage.
For all new homes, I keep a file with the prints and any notes that we may need to fall back on. Also, pictures of wire runs before the drywall goes up have saved us a lot of grief.
Another thing we do is always run continuous power to the door chime unit - some of the electronic chimes require power after the button is momentarily pressed.
When working in a live panel, I use a sheet of Dacron (the varnished insulation used in motor windings), fold it to fit and place it over the buss. There's no chance of a bare ground hitting any exposed buss bar.
