Thus, I am suggesting that one forgo the temptation to game the system, and just try to minimize one's vulnerabilities.

That probably is the smart choice, and the one I'm taking. However in a situation in which one has to make the choice between paying off unsecured debt, especially if it was made for an emergency such as unforeseen medical bills, versus paying day to day bills or keeping some cash stashed in a secure place to give one some flexibility, I'd go for the latter, and consider bankruptcy as an option. What good is being debt free if the credit market has collapsed and you have no cash or assets to help you through?

The ideal would be to pay off the credit cards AND have cash, but if the former is isn't possible in a reasonable time frame I'd rather have cash on hand, too. Thus I'm "hoarding" cash right now and will get back to paying down the credit cards once I've reached a certain level of cash.

The cash hoarding would go quicker except that I'm also making other preparations i.e. building my personal library, stocking the disaster kit (which got up there in $$'s once I was done), etc.