Walk in and hunt with the wind in your favor, it is the only sure formula to big bucks and deer in general not smelling your presence. Deer will encounter your trails and scent regardless of how you enter the woods, how they act or respond is dependant on each deer/mood/etc. and not something that can be assessed. The best way is to get to a spot(your spot) undetected as possible and use the wind in your favor. Plain and simple if the wind is blowing in the wrong direction of all of your spots you are better off not going then chancing it, if you are truly serious about hunting big " trophy" class deer. I know we can' t pick the weather, wind, conditions only the day to which we can hunt, but you must then adapt to the hand that has been dealt to you and play it to the best of our abilities...hunting a marginal wind isn' t doing so and hunting the wrong wind is even worse. i know how frustrating it can be as i have a few places that are gold but I need a wind that isn' t pervailing during rifle season, many times I have waited several days for the right wind to come and even not been able to hunt in the entire year. However everytime I have done it the right way the results have been positive. Being a " trophy" guy myself I live by 2 rules: 1) Education/Pressure is not a good thing 2) Big deer only make one mistake a year . You can see how they are related and how it is very important to chose your spots appropriately and yes the wind is the most obvious deciding factor on where you hunt that day or time. Deer are smart enough and when we educate them or do something that favours their senses or ability to detect danger they are even smarter. Be smart, hunt hard & have patience are keys to successful tallies on big bucks. A dose of good old fashion luck don' t hurt either
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BTW I think your well on your way, you know you don' t want to comprimise your spot or educate the deer(obvious by your scent free rituals and question/mixed emotions) & have set up a goal/standard for yourself to achieve. Just need patience, as you know the area, the deer and their movements...wait out the perfect wind and go tag that hawg!
Good luck
PS weather man have been known to be wrong, so this is where luck plays into the mix