Quick update: all the techniques above work! If you want a more visual/UI approach the add-on is worth it. It is a bit clunky on the setup but I talked with the developer and he is actively working on enhancing a few features that should come out with the next update.
I think I’ll keep using the add-on for now because it’s easy and has a couple nice-to-have features like a sound/email once the batch job is complete, auto disabling hidden objects, naming and organizing and so on. It is quite nice… I had 12 small scenes rendered overnight! I woke up and already feel productive lol.
