Hi!
interesting topic!
Well, I have seen the instruction about putting the needle in before… and I have tried on a little piece before. But no… not so much my thing.
I mostly do it like suzee does: rip to 1 row before and pick the stitches up as I go.
As for twisting the stitches: I am a master at that whenever I have to pick them up floating somewhere. But I always either get them right or twist them the same way (reversed with front and back loop). No more twisting than that. So I do not bother but just knit them off through the back loop when I get to them - or if I need them for something like a cable or lace then I do turn them around as I get to them.
If you DO put the needle in before: use a very small one, so you do not stretch the stitches too much and get it in easily. This, though, is a problem with yarn that tends to split or that you can easily poke through.