As a powerlifter, I would've used far less AAS but would've gotten truly lean much earlier, and then actually pushed hard for size gains...basically the same as I do now as a bodybuilder. My diet was always regimented, but I never took calories low enough to get ripped or high enough to really put on size. So I just tried to "recomp" around 240-250 for a few years with mediocre results.
Probably would've started GH earlier, at least as a bodybuilder. First show was at 31, so at that point there was no reason to hold off (other than finances).
I would have skipped the low test / high anabolics trials.
I would have accepted a little more bloat and not taken too much AI on the assumption that water retention is a sign e2 is "too high" - horrible habit IMO. Any time a guy tells me he has to take x amount of AI at a test dose < 750-1000mg, I wonder whether he's just being overreactive to water retention and maybe f'ing with his nips too much.