Tyler, it is One way (of many) to "skin a cat" as they say...lol.

I also like to use Split ND graduated filters out in the field.

I also have a tutorial on this site on how to do blends for HDR scenes. (but it isnt HDR)

And you can use HDR programs

There are many ways to do this and maybe even a combonation of like my HDR blend and using a split ND filter in the field.

But I am much like you where I try to do as much as I can with one shot.

Having a 2 and a 4 stop Split ND filter with a soft grad really helps.

A 3 or 4 stop reverse split ND works also very well for "Sun in the horizon" shots. The gradient is in the middle and fades outward to clear on both sides.

Just tools you aquire over time.

Roman