I have a question for you strummers....

[Undertoad]

Oh I use the unmentioned third method... proper muting with good right-hand techniques. There's a "wandering thumb method" which seemed so sensible from the outset that I just learned to do it normally. My thumb is normally anchored on the string above where I'm plucking. That provides a mute for that string and a very strong hand position to get whatever sound I want, plucking soft or hard, fast or slow.