As far as @drsprite 's original question, I think the short answer is that people use a combination of methods.
For example, you might have a time based schedule, a presence Based rule, A mode based rule, a motion based rule, and a manual rule. Keeping them all straight requires some set up effort, of course, but it can be done.
Or if you use CORE, you can probably put them all into one long complicated “piston” (that’s what CORE calls its individual rules).
It’s really the same thing as lights in a lot of ways. I have a porch light which turns on at Sunset and stays on until 9 PM. Then from 9 PM until 7 AM it turns on with motion. For various reasons, I don’t want to rely only on motion in the early evening hours. So I use a combination.
